


Our Promise Kept

by Kiss_The_Falling_Sky, supergay



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Abuse, Angst, Emil/Michele if you look hard enough, Fluff, Multi, OtaYuri on the side, Pirate Mila, Princess Sara - Freeform, Princess/Pirate AU, Slow Burn, Smut, Viktuuri on the side, Violence, homophobia mention, my slow burns are getting slower and longer
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-16
Updated: 2019-03-13
Packaged: 2019-05-24 02:37:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 16
Words: 35,330
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14946012
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kiss_The_Falling_Sky/pseuds/Kiss_The_Falling_Sky, https://archiveofourown.org/users/supergay/pseuds/supergay
Summary: Sara is a princess who wants freedom more than anything.Mila just wants to survive and make it to the next day.After their first meeting, their fates become more entwined than either of them would have thought.ON HIATUS





	1. When We First Met

It was cold, raining and Sara hated it. All the stupid weather ever seemed to do was rain. Which was fine for her brother and parents, who just loved to spend all their time in the castle either learning or signing documents, but Sara loved to explore, to see the country she could one day be ruling. But no. The stupid rain had to come and ruin it.

“Why does this always happen…?”

So since it never did anything but rain, the young princess decided to take the initiative. She had umbrellas exactly for this purpose, and she couldn’t believe she hadn’t thought of that before. Pulling out a coat and umbrella, Sara moved silently through the castle to the nearest exit, smiling as the rain made a pleasant sound against the fabric.

“Princess Sara? Where are you going?” A quiet voice called behind her. 

She turned and saw her teacher, a man called Celestino, watching her with concern. Out of all the adults meant to look after her, Celestino was the only one she respected because he was the only one who treated her like a person. However, that didn’t mean he wouldn’t stop her from leaving.

“I’m just going for a walk.”

“On your own?”

“Yes.”

“Outside of the castle walls?”

“Yes...don’t tell? Please? It’s the only freedom I get!”

The older man sighed, obviously weighing up the pros and cons of letting her leave. The minutes of silence were agony as she waited to see if he’d tell on her or not. In the end, he sighed louder and waved her off.

“Go on, go. But stay safe. Your parents would have my head if they knew I’d seen you.”

“Thanks Celestino! I won’t tell if you don’t.”

He smiled softly and she giggled, before running off with a wave back to him. She was glad she could trust Celestino, it would be torture if he wasn’t here.

This is where she wanted to be, outside with the people, not cooped away where she was more of a myth than an actual person. Sara moved slowly through the city, observing the various goings on of people she could never hope to understand.

As she walked, however, she found that there were a surprising amount of people living on the streets. Her parents had always told her that there weren’t really any homeless people here, but she’d lost count of how many she’d seen today. The young princess looked around until she accidentally bumped into an old lady.

“Princess Sara? How lovely to see you! But...what are you doing alone at this time?”

“Excuse me ma’am. I didn’t see you. And I was simply exploring the city.”

“Does the King and Queen know you’re out?”

“Please don’t tell them! If I didn’t sneak out I’d have no idea about the kind of place I lived in!” 

“You’re secret’s safe with me. Come, it’s freezing out here. I’ll make you some tea before you head back.”

Sara smiled and nodded. Normally she wouldn’t go with any random person, but she’d spoken to this kind old lady before. Whenever she left the palace she’d often run into her and they’d have nice chats. But right now, Sara had questions. She wanted to know exactly what her parents weren’t telling her about their city.

“Excuse me ma’am, but I was wondering...could you tell me more about the city?”

“Don’t you parents tell you?”

“Well they do...but I don’t think they’re telling me all of it? For example, they told me that there aren’t any homeless people in the city...but I saw so many of them just today?”

“Ah dear. The homeless here hide from the guards. The fear being taken into the dungeon.”

“My parents arrest homeless people?”

“It’s more for loitering, but since they have nowhere to go there’s little to no choice for them. It’s a sad truth my dear, but it’s one we’re used to seeing.”

“That’s so awful...And I had no idea…”

“You weren’t meant to princess. That’s a part of the city that no one wants to admit, not even the well off citizens. We know it’s bad, and wrong, but there’s nothing we can do.” 

Sara sighed and looked at her reflection in the tea. If her parents had been lying to her about this...what else had they been lying to her about?! She bit her lip and twisted the cup, her small mind racing with questions.

“Something bothering you dear? If you have any questions, feel free to ask.” The old lady asked.

“What...what about imports and exports? They’re doing well right? Mother and Father say they are.”

“Intelligent young girl aren’t you? Yes our economic situation is just fine.”

“Right. And what about our relationship with foreign nations?”

“Well, there’s naturally tension between those who prosper and those who don’t, however we’re in a time of peace, and that’s all we can ask for.”

Sara sighed with relief, and sank back into the chair a little. So it was on the homeless situation that they were keeping from her and her brother...wait...what if Michele knew too!? What if he was keeping the truth from her as well?! She supposed it made sense, if her parents were locking people away, she doubted they’d want her knowing about it. But still...there was something about it that unsettled the young princess. 

“Do you ever wish you could do something? Even though you can’t?”

“Everyday child. I wish I could give every person on the street a home. But I do the only thing I can do.”

“And what’s that?”

“I give them food, give them drinks. Even if there’s nothing else, it’s the least I can do.”

“Food huh...I’ll remember that! I want to start helping too!”

“You’re a wonderful young lady Princess Sara. One day you’ll make a fantastic queen!”

The young girl blushed and muttered thank you into her tea cup. After that they spoke a bit more about the day to day business the old lady conducted, some of the people she interacted with, and how the boy in the apartment below her kept trying to flirt with a girl across the street despite her showing no interest.

“I should probably get going. Thank you so much for the tea! It was delicious.”

“Not a problem my dear. Stay safe heading back now.” 

Sara left the old lady’s house with a soft smile on her face. It was interactions like those ones that made the effort needed to escape the palace all the more worth it. She headed back through the streets, skipping occasionally and smiling at the people who noticed her. The skipping princess was about to round a corner, when some quiet whimpering made her stop. If someone was crying they probably needed help, and if they needed help she couldn’t ignore them. Sara looked around for the source of the whimpering, and her eyes came to rest on a young red haired girl, about her own age, curled up in a doorway. She was absolutely soaked, shivering with cold.

“Are you ok?” Sara asked, holding the umbrella over her.

The girl gasped and tried to shuffle away, and for a second Sara was confused. She was trying to help her...then she realised that she was obviously royalty and the homeless were locked away by royalty. She held her hand out gently, showing she meant her no harm.

“Don’t worry. I want to help you. You don’t need to be frightened.”

“You...you’re the princess…” The girl muttered.

“I know. But I promise, I want to help. What’s your name? Mine’s Sara.”

“Sara...am I allowed to call you that?”

“Of course!”

“But you’re the princess…”

“Exactly! I’m the princess so you have to do what I say! And I say call me Sara!”

“Ok.” The girl smiled a little. “I’m Mila.”

“Where are your parents Mila?” 

“Dead...had no one to take care of me so I learned to take care of myself.”

“That’s so sad...I’m sorry you had to go through that.”

The girl shrugged, and for a while they sat in silence. Sara thought it was odd that even though neither of them were speaking, it wasn’t awkward. If she ever experienced this with her brother than she’d always feel really awkward, but it wasn’t like this with Mila. All of a sudden, the red haired girl’s stomach rumbled, making her blush and try to muffle it. This only made Sara laugh harder, as she stood up straight and offered her a hand up.

“Come on. Let me get you some food.”

“You don’t have to…”

“I know I don’t have to. I want to! You’re a friend of the princess and friends of the princess aren’t allowed to go hungry!”

Sara could have giggled at the blush that spread across her new friend’s cheeks as she lead her through the streets to the nearest baker’s stall and bought her a loaf of bread. At first she tried to refuse it, but Sara wasn’t having any of that, and took her to the driest place they could find so she could eat.

“You honestly didn’t have to do that…” She mumbled through mouthfuls of bread.

“You honestly need to stop saying that! I wanted to!”

“I suppose...but why me? There are hundreds of homeless children that the orphanage doesn’t want. Why did you pick me?”

“Wait what did you say?” Her eyes widened.

“I…” The red head frowned. “Didn’t you know? There are tons and tons of kids like me on the streets. Our parents died without anyone knowing so we’re left to fend for ourselves.”

“And...my parents...they’re not doing anything…”

“Not really no. But you didn’t answer any of my questions.”

“No I didn’t know...They always told me that there were no homeless…”

“Don’t want to upset the pretty princess~” Mila teased.

“Hey! It’s not like that!”

“I know I was kidding. Now the other one. Why me?”

“Well...I suppose you because we seem to be similar ages. And you just...you seemed so sad…”

Mila stared at her in shock, that was obviously not the answer she’d been expecting but it was the truth. The young girl had seemed so sad to Sara, she couldn’t in good conscious have just left her like that.

“Wow um...thanks then. I guess I owe you one.”

“You don’t owe me anything silly. You’re my friend now! Friends help other friends!”

Now that she wasn’t freezing and starving, Mila was actually pretty fun to be around! She was quite sassy and sarcastic, and pretty bright despite her situation. Sara found herself wanting to be around her more, and when she expressed this the red haired girl chuckled.

“The princess wanting to hang around a little urchin like me? I am honoured.” They giggled together. “But...no I agree. I’d like to see you again too.”

“Can I come back tomorrow?”

“You’re asking permission like I own the street! Of course you can. I’d love it if you did.”

“You’re way better company than my brother anyway!”

“What’s Prince Michele like when he’s not looking like the country’s angel prince?” 

“Oh my god he’s so pretentious! He likes to think he knows everything when he really doesn’t!”

“He knows more than you by the sounds of it.”

“Only because he’s the heir. If he wasn’t then there’d be no excuse!”

“Are you jealous?”

“No way! He only thinks of himself and I’d hate to be like that.”

Mila giggled and pushed her hair out of her face. Now that Sara could see he properly, she was actually pretty thin, but that probably came from living on the streets. Her eyes were also a shocking blue colour, that rivalled the colour of the sky on a sunny day. Her eyes were beautiful, and the simple thought of that made her blush.

“What’s on your mind princess? You’re blushing! Not falling for me are you~?”

“What!? No! I barely know you!”

“I was kidding Sara, no need to get defensive.” She grinned.

Sara smiled, but it was sad as she should probably get back before her parents realised she was gone. Mila seemed sad too, but the princess promised her that she’d come back to see her tomorrow, hopefully with better weather.


	2. A Promise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are looking up for the two girls.  
> But if things are up, the only way they can go is down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ready for a tiny bit of angst?  
> Don't worry, it gets worse!

Over time, Sara began sneaking out of the castle more and more to see Mila. Though the two girls were from totally different worlds, the friendship that developed between them was a strong one. Sara liked the red haired girl’s snarky attitude, that it was present even in the most hopeless of times. The princess frequently offered to bring Mila some new clothes but she’d always refuse, giving the excuse that her parents would start to notice missing clothes and if someone else was wearing them. 

It was moments like that which made Sara stop and look at the girl. Despite not having a formal education, despite being abandoned young, she was actually really smart. She couldn’t read or write, but she could remember things that Sara told her with ridiculous ease.

“So you remember that red dress my brother spilt tea over? He’s offered to pay to have it remade since it was his fault! I had no idea he could be considerate like that!"

“I thought you said it was the blue dress he spilt tea on?”

“Did I…?” She paused in thought. “Oh my, you’re right! How could you remember that and me not?”

Mila shrugged, but giggled at the look of confusion on her friend’s face, and pulled her off through the side streets. That was another thing she could remember well. Mila seemed to know every single alley and where it lead to. Sara figured it probably came from her years spent on the street, but it was definitely coming in handy now, especially when the guards appeared from nowhere.

“We can’t get caught. It’d be bad for both of us.”

“I know it’d be bad for me, they’d tell mother and father. But why you? Couldn’t you just lie and say your parents are at work? Besides, they wouldn’t lock a child away would they?”

“With the way I look? They’d never believe me. And yes they do. Saw them cart off a boy last week. Never seen him again.”

Sara went pale and she felt a little sick. They were even taking in children?! It was insane, but for now the best she could do is keep Mila out of trouble. They eventually lost the guards and found themselves sitting on the steps of one of the city’s numerous churches, an apple in their hands looking up at the blue sky, a shocking but welcome turn in the weather. Neither of them really understood why there were so many churches here, most people weren’t even particularly religious anymore, but they were essentially forced to go by Royal law. Another reason she was slowly beginning to resent her family.

“Sara? You alright?” 

“Yeah...just thinking…”

“You know, you think an awful lot. If you need to talk about anything I’ll listen. You’ve done so much for me these past few weeks, it may be the only way I can repay you!”

She smiled softly at her friend’s blunt way of putting it, but she appreciated more than she could say that she was willing to listen to problems that were probably ridiculous in her eyes. With a deep sigh, the princess leaned back and looked at the clouds.

“I just...god this is going to sound ridiculous...but I just hate being a princess now. Now that I’ve seen what things are really like outside of the castle...I hate it. I hate the rules, I hate the policies, I hate all of it and I don’t want any part of it anymore…” 

“Do you really hate it? Or are you just upset at your parents?”

“No...at first I thought it was that too but...it’s not just that anymore. Now I’ve been outside and spent all this time with you...it’s become so dull and unbearable...I want out you know?”

Mila was silent for a while, obviously thinking over her response. That was another thing she noticed about her friend, and it was something that always compelled her to want to be around her more than her family. Whenever she said something around her parents, or even more so her brother, it was often just brushed off with a sigh of ‘go do something productive’. Whereas Mila actually considered before responding, even if she too sometimes though there must be more productive things to spend brain power on.

“It does make sense. You’ve all of a sudden been introduced to a world full of adventure, it makes sense that you’re not satisfied with Palace life.”

“What should I do...I can’t runaway...I stick out like a sore thumb!”

“Well the purple eyes do give you away a little.”

“Mila!”

“Kidding!”

They fell into silence again, and Sara could tell she was still thinking. Mila had joked about the princess thinking too much, but Sara had noticed in recent days she too had been deep in thought.

“I know!” She grinned, standing up suddenly. “I’m gonna be a great pirate one day!”

“You...what?! But Piracy is illegal like...everywhere!”

“That’s why I’ll be the greatest Pirate ever! And I’ll get an amazing ship! It may take a few years, but I’ll come back and take you away from this life you so hate!”

“We’re like the same age?”

“I’m 10! Give me 8 years and I’ll do it!”

“You’re only 10!? I thought you were my age!”

“How old are you?”

“14!”

“Oh...well then! I’ll just have to work extra strong to save you then!” She grinned.

“Oh really?” Sara giggled. “You promise?"

“On my life! The great Pirate Queen Mila will save the Princess and whisk her away to a life of adventure!”

The two girls giggled and started to chase each other through the streets, Sara trying to keep up with the self appointed Pirate Queen. Unlike most days where they just parted ways, Mila walked her back to the castle walls this time, then bowed low and kissed the princess’ fingers.

“I’ll come for you on my boat one day princess! I promise! And a Pirate never goes back on her word!”

Sara giggled again, before taking her hand back and going inside. The younger girl didn’t know why her heart was beating so fast, they were friends, surely friends kissed each other’s hands? She couldn’t really draw on past experiences, Mila was her first friend, but surely it was normal to act like this with friends...right? 

The dark haired girl took a deep breath and made her way to her room, planning to get some work done before lunch and change her dress. She didn’t wear her nice ones when she went out because they were too bright and colourful, but it was nice to get back into them. Getting out her books, she was about to do some work when her brother appeared at the door.

“Yes? Do mother and father want something?”

“No. I do.” He was watching her carefully. 

“Ok? Well what do you want?”

“You’ve been going out a lot recently. What are you doing?”

“I’m getting used to the city. None of you are going to do it, so I may as well do it myself.”

“Don’t talk like that. You sound nasty.”

“Oh I’m so sorry your highness. Please forgive my rude manner. Now if you’ll excuse me I have work to do.” 

“I’ll tell Mama you’re leaving the castle.”

“You tell Mother, there are no rules to stop me leaving the castle as and when I want.”

“You’ll never been queen if you keep acting like that.”

She rolled her eyes and shut the door on him. Sometimes she really did hate her brother, he always treated her like she was a baby when he was only like a minute older than her! Speaking of age, she really hadn’t expected Mila to be so young. It must have been because of her life style...which was saddening to think about. With a sigh of resignation, she sat at her desk and began to write things down.

***

It wasn’t long before the small shred of happiness the universe had afforded Sara was taken away from her; she supposed she should have seen it coming. Any other time she got something that made her happy Michele would usually take it off her with the excuse it wasn’t something a princess should have. So it made sense that her only real friend would be taken away from her. 

It was just any other day at first. They’d agreed to meet up at the usual place, so Sara had begged for silence from Celestino again before heading out. There weren’t really rules against her leaving, but she just didn’t want he parents questioning her on it. When the young princess reached their usual meeting place, she was lone; obviously Mila must be running a bit late. That wasn’t uncommon, if the guards tried to cut her off before she got there, she’d have to take the long way round...but the longer it got without her showing up, the more worried Sara became. Eventually she decided to go and look for her, starting in the direction that Mila would come from if she was running late and working her way from there.

“LET GO! I DIDN’T DO ANYTHING WRONG YOU BASTARDS!” She heard a hauntingly familiar voice shriek.

“Such a foul mouthed brat. Shut it will you?!”

As Sara peared around the corner, she watched in horror as the guard’s first hit her friend in the stomach, winding her enough for him to lift her over his shoulder. Why were they getting her?! They’d only seen each other yesterday and she’d seemed fine, like she could get away from them! What had happened!? After watching them for another second, she turned and ran back to the castle, knowing that she needed to do something to protect her friend.

After changing into something more appropriate, the young princess ran as fast as she could to the throne room, praying to every god in existence that she wasn’t too late. Thankfully her prayers were heard, and the only people there were her parents and her brother.

“What’s going on?” She asked, after greeting them.

“A street urchin was accused of stealing bread yesterday afternoon. She’s being brought in to be judged.” Her father told her.

Sara felt herself go pale at the use of ‘She’. There was no way it could have been Mila, they were together all afternoon yesterday, so someone must be trying to frame her. The young princess bit her lip as her red haired friend was dragged in by the guards, kicking and screaming and swearing like a sailor. It was difficult to stop the smile threatening to give her away, but she managed it, and listened to her father talk to the baker. He was talking as if Mila wasn’t even there!

“So, this is the girl that stole from you? You’re certain?”

“Yes! It was definitely her. No doubt about it!” Wrong...he was wrong.

“Young lady, you understand that stealing is a major offence here?” The Queen gave the red head an icy stare.

“It wasn’t me! I was nowhere near the baker yesterday!”

It was obvious she was making an effort not to look at the princess, not wanting her to get in trouble as well. There was no way she was making it out of this in her mind, so Sara had to do something herself. As the guards were getting ready to take Mila to the dungeon, Sara stepped forward and ignored her friend’s looks begging her to step back.

“Sara? Is something wrong?”

“Yes mother! Something is very wrong! There’s no possible way that the girl before us stole from him!” She heard Mila give a sharp intake of breath.

“Do you have any proof?”

“Yes! Because I was with her all afternoon yesterday! If you don’t believe me ask the fruit vendor outside the large church!” She stared at her parents, back straight like they’d taught her.

“Is this where you’ve been going when you’ve been leaving the castle?!”

“Mother-”

“We’ll deal with you later Sara. For now girl, you’re free to go. I’m giving you the benefit of the doubt and believing my daughter on this. But if I find you before me again, I will not be so lenient. Get her out of my sight.”

As soon as their hands were on her, Mila started to struggle, looking at Mila, tears running down her face as they forced her to leave her only friend, probably forever now. Sara hadn’t wanted to, but she’d had no other choice but to tell them.

“Sara, you are forbidden from leaving the castle. Do you understand me?” Her father turned to her, glaring.

“No! You can’t do that!”

“I am your father, and the king! I can do what I think is fit to protect you!”

“She’s my friend! You always do this! I can never have something of my own, even friends!” She shot back, her nails digging into her palms.

“You are the first princess! You are expected to act a certain way!”

“If it means I have to never see Mila again then I’d rather not be a princess at all!”

Without waiting for a reaction, she stormed back to her room, past Celestino, ignoring her brother, ignoring all the other voices that called out to stop her. If she hadn’t hated it here before now, she definitely did now. They’d taken away her only friend, just because she wasn’t  _ worthy _ of being the princess’ friend! Once safe in the confines of her own room, the princess relaxed her hands, and looked down to see small trails of blood dripping from the wound left there. Part of it was almost soothing, but now that her anger had faded she was left with an overwhelming sense of despair and loss. Mila wasn’t dead, but they’d never be allowed to see each other now.  Giving into to her emotions, tears flooded her eyes and she fell to her knees, never wanting to leave her room again if she could help it.


	3. Eight Years Later

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eight years have passed since Mila was almost killed for something she didn't do.  
> Eight years have passed since Sara was forbidden from leaving the palace.  
> Eight years...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we finally get to the main part of the story!!!  
> I just thought those chapters of build up were important to establish the girls' relationship.  
> But now we're moving on!

Eight years later and things around the palace had really changed. Sara had become even more of a legend than she had before, certain that several townsfolk thought she died years ago and her brother’s keeping up pretenses. In all honesty, she thought that would be better than the living hell she had to endure. In those 8 years her parents had both died fighting a battle they’d started with a neighbouring city, but thankfully the princess had persuaded her brother to reach a peaceful agreement with them rather than continuing the fighting. But with her parents gone, Michele, as the heir, had become king, and only imposed tighter rules on her. More lessons, less free time. Eight years later, and it was as if nothing had changed. 

“Mila...where are you now…” She whispered, thinking of her old friend.

Eight years ago she’d sacrificed her freedom for Mila’s. As Sara was now 21 and hating life more than ever before, Mila would be 18 and...doing whatever it was former street children did if they didn’t get caught. She hadn’t been brought in again, that was for certain. Maybe she’d died on the street of some disease?! Maybe she’d been murdered?! Sara suddenly felt faint, and grasped the back of her desk chair to stop herself from falling over, knocking over a pen pot in the process.

“Milady? Is everything alright?” Her lady-in-waiting poked her head in.

“I’m fine...just...felt a little faint is all. Is there something you needed?”

“His majesty wanted to see you. To eat breakfast together.”

“Right…” She hissed. “Well, please tell his majesty that he can wait until I’m dressed.”

“I wish you wouldn't speak about your brother like that. He really does care for you.”

“If he cared for me he wouldn’t keep me locked away. I’ll be there soon.”

The girl nodded and left her. After a minute of collecting her thoughts, that Mila couldn’t possibly be dead as she was too smart to let herself die, she dressed herself in her favourite dress and headed to the dining room. Michele always forced her to have meals with him, even though he knew she hated it just like everything else in this damn castle. Sara didn’t address him when she sat down, simply waiting for the food like normal.

“You could at least say hello.”

“Hello brother.”

“Still in a bad mood I see?”

“Yes well. Foul moods often come with being locked away in the castle.”

“Sara, it’s for your own good. Look what happened last time you were allowed to leave the castle whenever!”

“I made a friend?! Oh heaven forbid I make friends.” She rolled her eyes, pushing her food around the plate.

“Look, it’s for the best. Can’t we discuss something else? Like your birthday! That’s coming up soon! You’ll be 22!” 

“Woo hoo~ Another year older.” Sara deadpanned.

“Fine.” Michele sighed, giving in. “The festival starts in the morning, we make an appearance at the start. At least try to look like you’re enjoying yourself.” 

Sara rolled her eyes and finished her breakfast, waiting for Michele to let her leave before going to get ready for her lessons. Celestino looked at her as she came in and only shook his head. The older man was still her teacher, even though she was an adult and didn’t really need it. In all honesty, teacher was just more of a formality. They just sat in a room while he told her everything was going on outside. He was like a life line into the outside world.

“What’s that face for?” He asked.

“He makes it sound like he’s doing me a favour by not letting me leave!”

“He thinks he is. Have you spoken to him about it?” She opened her mouth to respond. “Calmly?”

“Ok...but every time I try to he tries to justifies it and refuses to listen to me!”

“I know you don’t like it, but at least you have your birthday to look forward too?”

“No…”

“No?”

“No.”

“Alright then Sara. What do you want to hear about today?” Even though he asked, he already knew what she was going to ask.

“Did you see a girl with red hair? Blue eyes?”

“I didn’t. I’m sorry Sara but I think your friend is either gone or-”

“No! She wouldn’t let that happen!”

“Sara really...You need to focus on important things, not whether some street kid is still alive or not.”

The princess pouted, but let Celestino go off about whatever it was he wanted to talk to her about. She didn’t care about any of it though, she just wanted to be outside. After eventually escaping the so-called classroom, she made her way down to the garden, the only place that she really felt free, especially since if she climbed into the tree closest to the wall she could see out into the harbor.

She contemplated for a second, before carefully making her way up the tree onto the safest branch she could find that was closest to the top. As the wind blew through her hair, Sara took a deep breath and sighed at the salty scent of the sea. It was her favourite smell, giving her dreams of pirates and adventure. The princess watched as an unfamiliar ship came into the port, she couldn’t recognise the flag, and the people were too far away to check if she could tell who it belonged to. That was odd, but maybe they were coming in for tomorrow and just decided to be early? It happened. She watched the tiny people meandre about, one person who looked like they were wearing a long coat, must have been the captain, seemed to be ordering the others around. It was kind of funny...until the captain seemed to look up at the castle, studying it. Even though she was a good distance away, she felt as if this captain was planning something, and suddenly she felt very unnerved. Deciding it’d be better to go back inside, she carefully climbed down, giving one last look at the ship before leaving. 

***

This was a city he’d never thought he’d visit again, and Yuuri had a lot of places that he’d rather not go back to. He looked up at the castle, then back to the captain who was staring at it with a sort of...longing. The doctor had never seen their leader looking so nostalgic, but he supposed that came with returning to somewhere you grew up. No one really knew much about their captain’s past, only that the old captain picked them up off the street and took them in as his own. 

“Yuuri? Do you need to get anything?” 

“Hm? Just a few herbs. Nothing I need a full team for.”

“Alright. Take Viktor with you anyway.” They stepped down from the wheel, first mate following.

“Are you sure we need a full raid for this captain? We have enough gold that we could handle this peacefully.”

“Viktor I understand where you’re coming from, but the raid is essential.” They sighed, cracking their knuckles. “Alright crew! Listen up!”

Yuuri watched as all of the crew gathered around their captain. Despite being so young, they held an air of authority that made it difficult to disobey them...or even want to.

“This raid is merely a distraction for me to get into the castle, no civilians are to be harmed and there should be minimal damage. Is that understand?”

“Aye captain!” They all responded, heading off to make their individual preparations.

The captain watched them go, eyes narrowing until they thought they weren’t being watched. But they were being watched, as Viktor and Yuuri hadn’t taken their eyes of their captain.

“What?” They growled.

“I just wondered what’s so important to you inside the castle. You were on the streets when you were picked up right?” Viktor asked.

“There’s someone I need to see…” They mumbled, looking at their boots. “A promise I need to keep.”

The two of them shrugged, before heading out to start their own prep. Sometimes their captain could be so cryptic, but it was better to not push the issue, and leave them to it. The captain looked back to the castle, blue eyes burning with intensity.

“Wait for me Sara...I’m coming…”

***

When she woke up, the first thing Sara realised was that she’d been asleep, and for some reason she couldn’t remember the time between reaching her room and waking up. She hadn’t been drinking, so she couldn’t blame it on alcohol, she just must have been really tired. Second was that it was nighttime now, so that meant she’d been asleep for almost half the day. They third thing...was that people were screaming...screaming in fear...why were people screaming?! 

The princess shot out of bed to her balcony, trying to see if she could get a glimpse of what was going on. However, the location of her room made it so she had no idea what was going on in the city. So she came to the decision that instead of hiding in her room and waiting for someone to tell her, she was going to find out for herself. She made it about halfway to the castle entrance when she ran face first into Celestino’s chest, the older man looking extremely concerned. It wasn’t a look that suited him.

“Sara? What are you doing here? You should be in your room!” He asked, gasping for breath.

“Finding out what’s going on! Why are people screaming?!”

“It’s a pirate raid. You need to get back into your room!” He turned her around and tried to push her gently.

“What?! No! I can help people who are injured!”

“Sara!” He gripped her shoulders and leaned into her ear. “I wasn’t supposed to tell you this, but one of the pirates was spotted heading towards the castle. We have reason to believe it was the captain, but we don’t know what he wants, so as of right now, keeping you safe is the number one priority. So please...go back to your room.”

“What about you…?” She whispered, fear suddenly coursing through her veins like the worst drug.

“I’ll be fine. Your brother is coordinating us. I just need you to do as I say. I know you don’t like being told what to do, but please. Just this once, listen to me.”

“Ok. Stay safe.”

“I’ll try.”

As soon as he let her go, Sara set off at a run back to her room, hoping she’d be able to lock the door to her balcony before the pirate got near her. Tears burned the back of her eyes as she ran, not just for her old teacher, but for her brother as well. As much as she said she hated him and resented him for keeping her locked away, he was her only family and she couldn’t deal to think of him being killed. It felt like she was the only person in the castle right now as, other than the screams from outside, it was dead silent...so if she wasn’t unsettled before, she definitely was now. Where was everybody?! Had they been evacuated? If they had, then why hadn’t she? Wouldn’t the princess be the first person they got out of there? Unless...they hadn’t been evacuated.

“No...No I can’t think like that!” She gasped, almost tripping over her skirts.

It didn’t take her much longer to get back to her room, and when she did, Sara locked the balcony door, after a quick check to make sure no one was out there. The princess had no idea what she would have done if there had been someone actually out there, but she supposed she’d have crossed that bridge when she got to it. Once she was certain that door was secure, she went back to the main door to her room, finally feeling like she was at least a little bit safe. That was...until she heard footsteps behind her. 

“Well well well, the little princess came straight to me.” Purred an awfully familiar female voice.

The princess froze, then slowly turned around to face the person who’d trapped her. If it was the Pirate Captain Celestino warned her about, surely he wouldn’t have such a feminine voice. Maybe it was his first mate? That seemed more likely in Sara’s inexperienced mind, but even then she wasn’t totally sure.

When she could finally see the person in front of her, she gasped when she realised that she was in a lot of trouble, more than she could have imagined in her entire life. The person standing in front of her was definitely a woman...but at the same time it was glaringly obvious that the person in front of her was also a Captain. She’d never met one...but she had an aura about her that suggested power. Red lips twisted into a smirk, as she flicked what could be seen of her shocking red hair over her shoulder.

“You miss me Princess~?”


	4. Run Away

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sara meets the girl with blue eyes from the past.  
> But in 8 years things have changed more than either of them had realised

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woooo our girls meet!   
> It's a shame Celestino had to come and bust the door down.

“You miss me Princess~?” The Captain grinned.

“Do I know you…?”

“Well that’s a bit rude! I know it’s been a while, but surely I haven’t changed that much! You certainly haven’t.”

Sara kept her back pressed to the door, trying to figure a way out of this. She wouldn’t make it to the balcony to scream for help, the Captain blocking her way, but she might be able to carefully and quietly unlock the door if she was lucky. She just needed to get the other woman talking for a little bit. 

“So what is this…?” She started, choosing her words. “Raid the city, kidnap the princess? A little cliche don’t you think?”

“Oh extremely cliche, but I’ve always been into the romantics of Piracy.”

“Piracy is illegal here, surely you know that? If my brother catches you it’s game over.” Her fingers managed to grasp the lock.

“Aaah King Michele. It’s a little strange to hear that name coming out of your mouth without a look of annoyance.”

Sara’s finger’s froze mid action, what the hell did that mean?! And why did this woman keep acting as if they knew each other! It was odd, not to mention distressing. She didn’t know how to process what she was hearing, but tried to push down her confusion to focus on what she was doing.

“See! You’re doing that again! I have no idea who you are or what you’re doing here!”

“No need to shout milady. I’m sure you’ll answer the first question on your own eventually. And as to what I’m doing here, I’m keeping a promise darling~! Now if you’d gladly come with me?”

“Promise? What promise? And no! I’m not going anywhere with you!”

“You don’t remember huh? I suppose you wouldn’t. Princess duties and all. Gonna get in the way of somethings. But I did promise you that I’d come back...And here I am.”

Her fingers stopped again, just as the lock silently slid open. Sara knew she could run now, try to find Celestino or her brother...and yet she was compelled not to...something about this woman was making her stay and want to listen. The princess’ eyes narrowed as she tried to get a good glimpse of her actual face, but it was a little difficult with the massive hat she was wearing. 

“If you’re going to talk to me like you know me...at least take that massive thing off…”

“Take my hat off? Oh my how rude of me. I wear it so often I sometimes forget I actually have it on my head. I once tried to go to bed wearing it?”

“Just take it off.”

“Yes Milady~!”

The captain’s hand rose to the rim of the hat, obviously making at show of removing the damn thing. When it eventually did come of, a quiet gasp escaped the princess’ lips.

***

This was the last thing that Michele needed to day before his sister’s birthday...a raid by a group of pirate who thought they were bigger than they actually were, and now he couldn’t find his own sister! The night just kept going from bad to worse, and it didn’t help that he had no idea what was going on as his own army wasn’t checking in like they were meant to. The young king growled and grabbed a knight as he passed, barely 18, the knight looked terrified at being grabbed from nowhere by Michele.

“What’s going on?! I need to know!”

“I’m sorry your majesty! Shops are being broken into all over the city, no civilians have been harmed so far, it seems they’re looking for supplies...but they’re being oddly peaceful?”

“A peaceful raid? What on earth does that mean!? And where’s Sara?!”

“I-I don’t know! You’d be better asking Celestino!” The knight pulled away and ran off.

The king paused in thought, trying to make sense of the whole situation. Peaceful didn’t really fit with pirate raids...something felt off, but he wasn’t sure what. For now he needed to focus on finding Celestino, and hopefully his sister by extension. The fact that she demanded so much space from him was really coming back to bite them now, and he could just imagine her alone and afraid, trying to hide from the pirate who had been rumoured to be heading to the castle. Eventually his eyes were met with the long hair of their old teacher, and he immediately got his attention.

“Your majesty! You should get to safety!”

“Celestino! Have you seen Sara? I can’t find her anywhere!”

“I saw her earlier, but I made her promise to stay in her room and lock the door. She should be safe.”

“Should be!? Should be isn’t the same as being safe! Find her now and get her out of here!”

Michele watched the older man run off, and he chewed on his lip in anger. How the hell had this happened!? In the four years he’d been king there hadn’t been a single pirate raid, and now they decided to come at him full force on the day before his sister’s birthday. He bit his lips and prayed for the girl’s safety as he went to help his soldiers. Sara would be fine, she was feisty and strong! She’d be fine...she had to be.

***

“What do you think was up with the Captain?”

Yuuri looked up from where he was collecting medical supplies from the city’s doctor, having peacefully resolved the issue Viktor created by kicking his door down. It had involved a lot of apologising, a lot of explaining the situation, a lot of lying and eventually he allowed them to take what they needed and promised not to breathe a word. It wasn’t often they came across people like that, more often than not Viktor had needed to threaten them first. It made a refreshing change.

“She said she had a promise to keep? Maybe she’s avenging her parents? Though...I didn’t think she knew her parents…” He thought carefully.

“Maybe avenging a dead lover~!”

“She’s 18 Viktor, she’s not gonna have any previous lovers. I don’t think anyway...Aaah...looks like we needed more than anticipated...it’s hard to judge when you can’t see it.” He felt some arms wrap around his middle.

“You’re a brilliant doctor Yuuri, have more confidence in yourself.”

“It’s not a question of confidence Vitya. If I mess up and we get attacked then people could get badly hurt.”

“Mmm~! Pay attention to me!”

“Viktor we’re in the middle of a raid! I’m not going to stop what I’m doing so we can make out on another Doctor’s desk!”

“Who said anything about making out~?” 

Yuuri gently put his hands on Viktor’s shoulders and pushed him away, pointedly ignoring the puppy dog eyes his husband had put on to try and persuade him, buy Yuuri wouldn’t be swayed. He pressed a gently kiss to his lips, a silent promise of later.

“Now, help me get this stuff back to the ship!” 

The older man smiled and lead the way back to the boat, keeping an eye out for any guards. They may have been doing things peacefully today, but that wouldn’t stop them from being arrested for being pirates.

***

Sara was met with the bluest she’d ever seen, and  they were just...just so familiar. Especially paired with the shoulder-length, wavy red hair that framed her smirking face. She..this pirate who came up out of nowhere, had such an ungodly familiar face and it made her heart race in such a way that she hadn’t felt in so long. There was only one person she’d ever met with eyes that colour...and she hadn’t seen her in eight years.

“M...Mila…?” She whispered, purple eyes widening.

“Hiya Sara~!” She grinned. “Told you I’d come back with a boat!”

“You...did…” 

“Don’t tell me you forgot!” She laughed, clutching her sides.

Sara’s cheeks went bright red as she looked at the girl in front of her, doubling over and holding her sides as she laughed at the expense of the princess. Part of her couldn’t believe that she’d forgotten the one promise they’d made, and it made her heart ache a little. 

“Now…” She sighed, calming down. “We should get out of here. Your idiot brother could be back any minute.”

“Wait wait wait wait...we? What do you mean we? I’m not...I can’t…?”

“Of course you can! Come on now!” She moved to grab her hand, but she stepped away. “Come on! What are you playing at?”

“I can’t just run away and leave!”

“Why not?! Eight years ago you would have jumped at the chance to get away from the his hell hole!”

“Things have changed! Michele told me, they’re getting better!”

Mila paused, watching the Princess with wide eyes. Had she said something wrong? She was only repeating what he’d told her, but the look on her old friend’s face made it seem like she’d grown a second head.

“Are...are you serious? Is that what you think?” She whispered.

“Well...yeah? Am I wrong…?” She frowned.

“Have you been out...since the last time I saw you…?” 

“No...No my parents forbade me to leave...and my brother kept that up so...I just believed what he told me…”

“You’re being lied to princess. Nothing’s changed. More people are dying of illness, poor people can’t afford to keep themselves alive...children are left without parents.” 

“No...no he said that had changed! He said things were better.” 

Mila seemed to get frustrated, her eyes burning with fury but...she could somehow tell it wasn’t directed at her. It was directed at her brother. The red head quickly walked up to her and grabbed her wrists holding her in place, shocking her a little but also...making her feel things. What the hell was that?!

“Listen to me Sara. Your brother is lying to you. He’s locking you away so he can keep lying to you. This is your one chance to get out of here and be  _ free! _ Like you deserve!”

“Mila…” She whispered, looking at her.

The two girls stared at each other, and it was then that she noticed the oddest thing. When they’d last seen each other she’d been taller than Mila, the red head had been thin to the point of seeming malnourished. Now though...she was a head taller than her even in flat boots and she’d filled out gorgeously, muscles just visible under her coat. 

“MILADY? IT’S CELESTINO OPEN THE DOOR!” A loud male voice boomed from the other side.

“Don’t open it. This is your one chance Sara. Take it.” She whispered, leaning close to her ear.

Sara’s mouth opened and closed quickly, trying to find something to say, but the close proximity was scrambling her brain. Part of her wanted to call out for her old teacher but...part of her wanted to go with the younger girl too.

“SARA IF YOU DON’T ANSWER I’LL BUST DOWN THE DOOR!”

“Mila I…”

“Please...come with me…”

Before Sara could answer though, Celestino held true to his word and started running at the door. Mila held her eye contact, silently begging her to take the offer. But for some reason her voice just got caught in her throat. That was until it got forced out as a yelp when her bedroom door came down, followed by the older man. 

“SARA!” 

“Welp! Looks like it’s time for us to make our exit!”

“Wait...what-”

Winking at the princess, she grabbed her round the waist and lifted her over her shoulder. Wait...WHAT!? For a minute Sara was stunned silent, until she realised that Mila was carrying her towards the balcony.

“WAIT MILA?! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!”

“Time to say goodbye princess!” She grinned, kicking the door open with a bang and running.

“Mila! Mila no don’t!” 

Before Celestino could stop them, Mila was jumping over the balcony, onto the tree and over the castle wall, Sara shrieking the whole way. This was insane! She was being kidnapped, watching Celestino somehow manage to keep a reasonable pace with them! Not only that, she was being kidnapped because she’d promised to let her friend kidnap her! As they ran through the streets, keeping to the shadows and back alley’s that the red head knew so well, and it was only then that Sara started squirming and kicking.

“Mila! Mila put me down!”

“Stop that, you’ll attract more attention, than we already have!”

“Good! Put me down! Right now Mila!”

“Sara if you keep doing that I’ll have to knock you out...and I really don’t want to.”

“MILA!”

“Oh for god’s...please forgive me.” She sighed, placing her fingers at the sides of her neck.

The princess was about to ask what the hell she was doing, but she suddenly felt her slipping into unconsciousness. Mila hated having to do it to her, but she really had no other choice. Running back to the boat, the pirate waved to Viktor to deal with the guy chasing her, knowing it would be bad if he caught up to them at the boat. The silver haired man jumped down and kicked the man in the stomach, knocking him out with a swift blow to the back of the head. Mila nodded her thanks to him, and as she boarded she could feel the eyes of her crew on her, as she carried the unconscious princess into the cabin she and Viktor had prepared for her. Her first mate and his husband followed her down, not speaking as she set her down and changed her out of her royal clothes. 

“So...you had to knock her out?” Yuuri muttered, checking that there was no damage.

“She was being difficult...if she kept it up the guards would have found us. I didn’t want to.”

“So...did you keep your promise?” Viktor asked.

“Yeah...but I don’t know if she’ll be happy about it…I promised I’d take her away from the life she hated but...she said she couldn’t leave...she still hates it there I can tell but...”

“You think her brother...I dunno...made her think a certain way?”

“Who knows...we’ll see how she reacts when she wakes up.”

The two left her, deciding their time would be better used preparing to sail over watching their Captain pine over the princess she just kidnapped. It hurt her a little to have had to take her so forcefully, and she’d have continued trying to persuade her if someone hadn’t come in and interrupted. Hopefully she wouldn’t be mad, but with a deep sigh the red head realised...she’d probably be mad.


	5. Waking Up Somewhere New

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sara wakes up in an unfamiliar place.  
> Explanations are demanded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo I hope you guys are enjoying this!  
> I'm not getting much feedback so I'm just assuming that you are.  
> The girls finally get a proper chance to talk though!

Light headed, that was how Sara would describe herself upon waking up. Her head was spinning and she couldn’t exactly remember what had happened last night. It was as if she’d gone out drinking and totally blacked out...but she couldn’t remember drinking...she wouldn’t have been drinking that late. So what had happened? 

“Ok...think about this Sara…”

She remembered...screams...the city was being raided by pirates...Celestino told her to hide in her room but...someone was already there. Who was it…? No one from the castle...someone else. They’d talked for a while...then Celestino had come and tried to get her...then out the window and...where? The princess looked around trying to make sense of where she was. The only thing she could gather was that it wasn’t in the castle, it was made entirely of wood. 

“Ok...Ok...I need to figure out where I am.” She hissed.

As she moved, she realised that she wasn’t wearing her dress. Instead she was wearing a light, flowy nightgown that she couldn’t remember owning, let alone putting on. Who the hell had changed her?! Either way, now wasn’t the time to think about that. She needed to get outside first and foremost, at least that way she’d be able to figure out where she was. 

“Where’s my…” She mumbled, feeling around her hair, that was now loose.

She spotted her usual hair pin, a beautiful pin in the shape of a bird with Amethysts that her brother had given to her for her 16th birthday. There was a moment’s pause where she considered putting it back in...but she decided to keep it in her hand, just in case. After another deep breath, she headed towards the door, keeping close to the wall when her legs decided not to function properly. Sara felt like a baby deer trying to walk for the first time, and she could really understand why! Was she in some sort of carriage? 

“No...no carriages don’t have corridors...not like this...where the hell…?” 

The princess kept her hand to the wall, trying to make her way down towards the only set of stairs she could see without falling over. Seriously, wherever this place was it was moving like there was an earthquake. This was insane, seriously insane. Where had that person last night taken her!? When she finally made it up the steps, several things hit her that only served to confuse her further. The sound of something...hitting... the sides of the building? The smell of..salt? Very slowly, in case there was someone on the other side, she opened the door, letting it swing open when she poked her head through.

Water...water everywhere.

***

Mila sat in a her cabin, looking over the map that marked out their course for this voyage, when a tentative knock came from the door. By this point she’d come to learn which of her crew was outside just by their knock, and this one was Yuuri. 

“Come in.” She called out.

The doctor came in, and she couldn’t help but smile a little. The black haired man always seemed so on edge even when there was no reason to be, and she couldn’t but want to protect him. Yuuri gave her a tiny smile, when she noticed her had his medical kit with him.

“What’s up? I’m not due for a check up am I?” She frowned.

“No, it’s for the Princess. I worry that being unconscious and waking up suddenly on a boat will throw her off  a little. Is it ok if I do a few tests?”

“You’re the doctor, you don’t need my permission.”

“Yes but I think she’ll be calmer with you there. She knows you.”

“I mean…” Mila blanched. “I just kidnapped her Yuuri, I doubt she’s gonna be delighted to see me…”

“Come anyway? I’m sure she’d appreciate you explaining.”

Part of her didn’t want to. Part of her wanted to avoid that confrontation as long as possible, but she knew avoiding her forever would only make things worse. With a sigh of resignation she stood and left her coat and hat behind, seeing those things would probably only scare the shit out of her and that’s not what Mila wanted to do. The two of them made their way down the hallway, towards the cabin Sara was in, in silence, and when they got there, she waited for Yuuri to knock...but he didn’t.

“Aren’t you gonna…?”

“Aren’t you?” He raised his eyebrows.

“You’re really making this difficult aren’t you.” The redhead rolled her eyes and knocked.

When there was no response, she knocked again a little harder...and that was when the door  swung open. Mila stepped inside, checking to make sure she wasn’t hidden...but nope. She wasn’t there at all. The red head frowned and looked around, trying to find some indication of where she went, but the only thing she noticed was that the girl and her hair pin were missing.

“Dammit…” Mila muttered, biting her lip. 

“Captain, we’re on a boat. She can’t have gotten far.”

“I know but I don’t think she’s been out of the castle since we met, let alone on a goddamn boat. We need to find her. You check the lower decks and I’ll start outside.”

The Doctor nodded and headed off in the opposite direction to his captain. This was bad, if Sara woke up disoriented and went out side, she could end up overboard which would be...super bad in all sort of ways. 

***

Sara slowly made her way to the edge of the boat...not a boat a ship! She was on an actual real life ship! Whenever Michele had gone away on international business he never let her come with him, so she’d never been on anything bigger than a rowboat. The Princess looked up, trying to see if she could see a naval flag, maybe after she’d been kidnapped they’d got her back? She didn’t exactly know how long she’d been asleep. Alas, there wasn’t one. Either they needed to hide the flag because of the territory, or they just didn’t have one, and Sara didn’t know which one was more likely. 

“Amazing…” She whispered, looking out at the ocean.

It was massive! Bigger than the highest branch on her old tree could ever show her. The water just seemed to keep going on forever and ever and ever to the point that it made Sara a little dizzy. As a child, she’d frequently begged her father to take her out on one of the big boats one day, but the king kept putting it off because he was busy, or had more important things to do with the ships. In the end he died before he could take her, and much like everything else Michele had continued to ignore and reject her. Her first time on the ocean...on a ship she didn’t recognise with...no one? Sara looked around and realised there was no one on deck, probably because it was so early, or late she couldn’t tell, but she’d have thought there’d be at least one person. 

She turned back to the water, taking a moment to breathe in the fresh air, when she heard footsteps behind her. It was either her saviour...or the person who kidnapped her...and she wasn’t taking the risk of it being the latter. Trying to stop her hands from shaking, she gripped her hair pin, waiting until the person stopped behind her. Sara had never hurt someone before, but her life was in danger now, so she took a deep breath and spun quickly pointing the sharp pin towards the person...who grabbed her wrist.

“Now that was rude.” 

Sara looked up, and her eyes widened. The red haired blue eyed girl stared down at her, a cocky smirk painting her lips as she gently guided hand down. Mila. So that hadn’t been a dream then, her old friend really had kidnapped her.

“You…” She choked out.

“What~? Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten me already? I only saw you last night!”

“I remember! You kidnapped me!”

“I promised you I’d come back, I had no other choice! I admit it was a bit rash, and I apologise for knocking you out before you have a go...I’d have continued trying to persuade you but...well...we were interrupted.”

“Yeah you promised...8 years ago! I gave up waiting after a while cause I thought you were dead!”

That was a little bit of a lie, in reality Sara had never given up on Mila coming for her one day...but she wasn’t lying about worrying her friend was dead. The expression on the redhead’s face was a mixture of frustration and sadness, chewing on her lip as she considered what to say.

“Do you have any idea how long it actually took to get to where I am? No...no I suppose you wouldn’t since you were born into it…” There was no spite in her voice, it was more like she was stating a fact.

“No I guess I don’t.”

“I don’t break promises...Never have done, never will.”

“Still! You didn’t have to kidnap me!”

“I told you, things went wrong! I was just planning to talk you into leaving with me, then that guy came in and I knew they’d kill me if they caught me!”

“So you’re next best option was to kidnap me, not try again another day?”

“That’d be asking me to risk my crew’s life, and as much as I wanted to see you again I’m not willing to put their lives on the line.”

There was something in that concept that made Sara’s heartache, the idea that Mila cared so much about all these people when as a little girl she’d had one friend who got taken away within a matter of weeks...it just made her feel things. But she wasn’t gonna let her know that she wasn’t mad at her so she kept a frown.

“Ok, fine, but what about my brother!? When he finds out I’m gone he’s going to come down on you hard.”

“Please, your brother’s been after us for years. He still hasn’t caught us. We’re fine.”

“You don’t get it do you?! I thought you were dead for the better part of 8 years, you appear out of nowhere and...take me away...on a big boat…”

Sara’s eyes widened to the size dinner plates as the Pirate started to laugh at her. In her mind it wasn’t something to laugh about, but the more she thought about it the more it made sense. Mila had promised her...so why wouldn’t she come back for her. Still, that didn’t change the fact she kidnapped her. 

“I mean it Sara...I know I was rash, but I did this for you. To help you.”

“That...I…” She blushed furiously and shook her head. “That doesn’t change the fact that you kidnapped me!” 

“Sara I-”

“Nope! Not hearing it! If anything I need time to calm down!” 

“Sara wait!”

Without stopping, she brushed past her and headed down to her cabin again, seeing people slowly start to make their way out. She only saw two other women on her journey, but she was in too much of a flap to stop and talk to any of them. She needed to be alone, and she needed to sort her head out. Cause as mad as she was...she couldn’t be angry? The idea of her friend being alive and back made her heart flutter in a way that it really shouldn’t...in a way that she hadn’t felt in a really long time.

***

Yuuri and Viktor watched Mila bash her head on the railing in front of her, and the two of them couldn’t help but smile. They’d never seen her act like that towards anyone before, so it was a little entertaining to just watch.

“She really loves her doesn’t she.” Yuuri sighed.

“It would appear so, Dorogoi. Don’t think she knows it yet though…”

“You’d think she’d work it out after 8 years.”

“8 years huh? Damn…”

“Not like you’re much better Nikiforov.” The Doctor smirked, hip bumping him.

“Now~ Is that any way to speak to First Mate?” Viktor purred, pressing his lips to his husband’s neck.

The Doctor sighed, pressing his back into the railing behind him, losing himself in the feeling of Viktor’s hands trying to make their way under his shirt. They almost succeeded, until the older man was pushed forcefully against him, by an angry looking teenager.

“Stop that you gross old men!” 


	6. Intense Avoidance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sara and Mila try to figure each other out.  
> Michele demands to know where his sister is.

A couple of days passed and Sara was either doing extremely well of living inside of her cabin, or she’d somehow managed to become familiar with Mila’s movements and was intentionally avoiding her. In all honesty the latter seemed the more likely option to the redhead. She stood at the wheel one morning, a steady wind in their sails, keeping them going without too much effort from the crew, which was nice considering that she made the crew leave port quicker than normal.

“Nice morning Captain!” A familiar voice called from below her. 

She looked down to see Viktor smiling up at him with his usual playboy smirk. When they’d first met, Viktor had been the very definition of a playboy, flirting with every gay man he could get his hands on. Then Yuuri had literally stumbled into his life, all flushed cheeks and nervous smiles and adorable Asian qualities, then she’d watched the steady progression of the Silver haired first mate falling head over heels for their newly acquired doctor.

“How goes it? You’re up early? Yuuri’s gonna miss you.” She smirked.

“Can’t exactly get lost on a boat can I? He’ll find me. Heard you leaving your room and wanted to see if you were ok. You haven’t been yourself since the last time you spoke to the princess.”

“Eh...I just kinda worry that she isn’t eating.” 

“Oh she’s eating. Guang-Hong drops her meals off after he’s done ours.” 

The two of them turned to see Yuuri walking towards them, arms crossed over his chest. For a few minutes they stood looking over the deck as the crew started making their way out to get to work, even though she’d sent a message round that only half crew was needed. They were like their captain in that sense, didn’t do anything by half.

“I’m going to try and give her a check up later, don’t know if she’ll open the door though."

“I’d appreciate it if you could try Yuuri. Thank you.”

“So…” Viktor grinned. “What about this promise?”

“Oh shut up…” Mila hissed, looking away.

“Whaaaat? I’m just curious?”

“When we were kids...one of the last times we saw each other...I promised her I’d take her away from the city on a big boat as the pirate queen…”

There was a brief silence, before Viktor burst out laughing clutching to the railing next to him for support. Neither his husband nor his captain looked impressed by his outburst, and one of the gunmen, a feisty young man by the name of Yuri, hit him with one of the sticks.

“Stop being annoying!” He growled. 

That made Mila and Yuuri chuckle quietly, as the older Russian looked at the blonde in despair. He’d never reprimand Yuri for speaking to him like that, he was younger than Mila but was kind and caring underneath the harsh facade. He made long journey’s much more bearable.

“Don’t laugh...it made sense in my head...I didn’t think she’d forget...or she’d think I died.”

“She thought you died?” Yuuri’s eyes widened.

“Apparently. I wouldn’t put it past her brother to tell her that though…”

“I’ll go see her now. Don’t forget to eat ok?” The Japanese man gently patted her shoulder.

“Yes sir.” She smirked, saluting the way they would to her. 

Yuuri rolled his eyes and headed below deck, the two of them watching him go. Though it was only obvious to the Captain, she could clearly see Viktor staring at his husbands ass. Which was cute, in a strange way.

***

Sara hadn’t realised how confining it would feel staying in one room for days on end. She’d spent years confined to the castle, yet that was starting to feel like complete freedom compared to what she was putting herself through now. She just couldn’t bring herself to leave her room just yet, not when she was still feeling so confused and angry. When a soft knock came from the door, she frowned and grabbed the hairpin, once again using it for the total opposite for its intended purpose.

“Who is it?” She called.

“The Ship Doctor. Can I come in?” A soft voice with an accent called back.

She opened the door to see an Asian man a little taller than her smiling softly. The princess had seen him before, he talked to Mila a lot and seemed to have a solid relationship with her. A small part of her mind wondered if they were lovers, but the rest of her mind suddenly decided that there was no way, and the idea made her chest hurt a little.

“Sara yes?” He asked.

“Yes…?”

“I’m Yuuri. I told you I was the Doctor, and I was hoping I could just examine you? Just to make there was no damage when you were unconscious.” 

“O-oh. Ok sure.” 

Sara let him in and shut the door while he put his bag on the desk. He seemed nice, soft looking, someone she felt she could trust. The princess sat down and let Yuuri check her over, part over her wanting to ask him about Mila...part of her just wanting to hide.

“Looks like everything’s all good.” He smiled, packing his stuff.

“So...so are you and Mila...um…”

“Are we?”

“I dunno...together?”

Yuuri looked at her for a second, then burst out laughing, supporting himself on the desk. She didn’t understand why he was laughing at her, it had been an honest question seeing as she was so new here! 

“No...no Mila and I aren’t together. She’s a lovely girl but ah…” He held up his hand, showing her a ring on his ring finger. “I’m not really...interested in women, if you catch my drift.”

“O-oh! I’m so sorry for assuming!” She blushed and bowed her head.

“It’s fine, it’s fine really. But is there a reason you looked so disappointed?”

“Di-disappointed?!”

“Correct me if I’m wrong but-”

“Well you’re wrong! Now if you’ll excuse me I’d like to get some rest! I’m still not used to being on a boat.” She pouted, turning away.

“You know, you’d get used to it a lot faster if you came up on deck?”

“Thank you Doctor, if you don’t mind?”

With a sigh, Yuuri left the room, deciding it was better not to press the matter. When he was gone, Sara locked her door again, sitting with her back pressed against the wood. Disappointed…? That was what Yuuri said...but why would she be disappointed about Mila being with someone? She wanted her friend to be happy...so why did the idea of her being with someone send a shock of pain into her chest.  

***

When the Doctor made his way back up on deck, he found Mila and Viktor where he’d left them, which wasn’t a surprise. The Captain would often take the wheel while her mind was occupied, and Viktor would always find time to harass her about about whatever she was thinking about. The two had an interesting dynamic, like the older Russian acted as her father like the old Captain had. It didn’t take long for Viktor’s eyes to find him, and a bright grin split across what Yuuri considered the most perfect lips.

“How was she?” Mila asked.

“Perfectly fine. Almost oddly healthy for being kept in the castle for 8 years.”

“Michele probably let her out into the garden...They’re kinda close so...I don’t think he’d hurt her.”

“You know Mila...she asked me if we were a thing?” He chuckled.

“What!?” His husband choked on his breath.

“I obviously told her otherwise, but she seemed very disappointed.” When the red head didn’t respond, he continued. “You should try and talk to her.”

“No...not yet anyway…”

Viktor and Yuuri looked at each other, thinking of a way to get Mila to stop hiding from things. Normally she was all for hitting things head on, but this seemed to be the one exception. She seemed to want avoid talking to the princess at all costs, but they couldn’t go on like this. The two looked on deck and saw two of the boys who worked on the guns, the feisty blonde from earlier, Yuri, and a slightly shorter boy who was actually the same age as Mila, Otabek. They were shamelessly flirting with each other, even though they insisted that they were just friends.

“Mila. Look at them.” Viktor sighed. “They’ve obviously found each other. Even if they won’t admit it. You know what they did?”

“What…?”

“They talked. They talked and realised that they feel strongly for each other. Maybe you just need to do the same thing?” Yuuri offered.

“You’re both ridiculous!” She threw her hands up, heading down to Sara’s cabin, ignoring their smirks.

The thing was...the closer she got to the door...the more she started to reconsider...the more she started to think that this was a bad idea. When she finally reached Sara’s cabin, she knocked nervously, resting her head on the wood.

“Sara…? Can we talk?”

When there was no response, the pirate sighed and slid down to the floor, back to the thing separating her from the princess. They were going to talk about it, even if it was just a one sided conversation with a plan of wood between them.

“Look...I know I messed up. I didn’t plan on just kidnapping you like that...I meant to just sit and talk you into coming with me but...but I saw him come in and I panicked...I’m sorry. I’m so so sorry Sara...I don’t expect you to forgive me...but please trust me when I say I thought I was doing the right thing...I guess I shouldn’t have assumed you still hated being a princess like you did when we were kids…”

Mila wanted to continue, but she didn’t know what else to say. She’d said everything she’d needed to, but now it was up to Sara to decide to forgive her for what happened. As the pirate walked away, she had no idea that the princess had been listening, and had buried her head in her arms to hide the tears.

***

Back at the castle, Michele drummed on the arm of his throne, chewing his lip as he waited for his knights to report back to him. After the Pirate raid the city had been in chaos the past couple of days, not to mention he couldn’t find his sister anywhere in the castle! He’d sent out half of his army as a search party and the other half to make sure people were safe. Soon they all came back, and he was in the worst mood he’d ever been in.

“Well? Where is she?!”

“I...I’m sorry my lord...we searched the entire city...and the surrounding villages...there was no sign of the princess…” A young knight stepped forward.

“...What…?” He growled.

“We...we uh...we…” He stammered, looking at his feet, until an older knight took over.

“We checked the city, the surrounding villages and even our allies. My lord, there is no trace of Princess Sara.”

“HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE?! SHE DISAPPEARED FROM A LOCKED ROOM! WHERE IS CELESTINO, I SENT HIM TO GET HER!” He shouted, throwing his glass across the room.

“Celestino is still recovering from being knocked out by one of the pirates when attempting to save a civilian sir.” 

“I DON’T CARE! BRING HIM HERE NOW! I DEMAND TO KNOW WHERE MY SISTER IS!”

He glared at them until the younger knight ran off to find the old man. None of them were really up for disobeying their king, but at the same time they were all wondering whether they were willing to stay in alliance to someone like...that. Soon the knight returned, Celestino shuffling behind him, not looking happy at being dragged to the throne room.

“You summoned me my lord?” He frowned.

“Sara...where is she. I sent you to get her!”

“She...the captain of the pirates who raided took her...I tried to get her back...I tried...I…”

“YOU TRIED?! TRYING ISN’T GOOD ENOUGH! LORD KNOWS WHAT THOSE WATER RATS ARE DOING TO HER!”

“I...I’m sorry My Lord…One of the others...they knocked me out before I could reach her…”

“Useless...YOU’RE USELESS! JJ! GET IN HERE NOW!”

Michele scowled as the captain of his navy walked in, the usual disgustingly smug look on his face. He didn’t dislike JJ, just his constant attempts at flirting with his sister. Luckily, she always rejected his advances, and it was his infatuation that would probably serve them well now.

“You called for me, My lord?” He asked.

“Yes. My sister’s been captured by pirates. I need you to catch them and bring them back. Dead, alive, I don’t care, as long as my sister is safe.”

“Excuse me, but I need a bit more information than pirates.”

“Celestino, the captain, what did he look like.” Michele snarled.

“She, my lord, had red hair and blue eyes. Tall. The man who knocked me out I think had silver hair and blue eyes? I can’t be sure though.”

Michele paused, that description seemed familiar. Not many people in the city had red hair or blue eyes, let alone both...so why did those features seem so familiar to him. JJ however also seemed to recognise both descriptions, and sly grin replacing his usual self-centred smirk. 

“I think I know the pirates your after. Not to worry my lord. I’ll bring lady Sara back safe and sound.” 

“You’d better...and make sure the bitch who took her pays…”


	7. Learn About Each Other

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sara finally decides to leave her cabin,  
> In doing so she learns a little bit more about her old friend from Yuuri.  
> Mila is losing sleep from the idea of Sara hating her,  
> But Viktor believes there's more to it than that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woop woop I'm here to celebrate Pride in my city with my favourite Lesbians!  
> Ignore the fact that this is a slow burn and they're still not together!  
> Enjoy though!

It had been a week since Sara had been taken aboard whatever the hell Mila’s boat was called, and during that time the princess had been doing some intensive thinking. At first it had been about how to escape, potentially taking a life boat and trying to row away...but that had quickly been put away by the fact that Sara had never sailed anywhere on a big ship let alone in a tiny rowboat...plus she had the upper body strength of a wet twig so she probably wouldn’t get far before they caught up to her.

After that, she started to think about what Mila had said through the door last night, her whispered apology, the sincerity in her voice. As angry as she wanted to be at her for taking her away so suddenly, she couldn’t bring herself to be as angry as she should be. Sara thought about it, and decided that there was no way Mila could be lying, especially since she sounded so sincere and upset at the idea of hurting her.

“Dammit...what have I gotten into?” She sighed, resting her head against the wall.

In reality, it hadn’t been long until she started taking the food someone kept leaving at her door, and despite some of the stories she heard about food on Pirate ships being generally disgusting. Sara found she actually really enjoyed what whoever the cook was made for what she presumed was the entire ship. One night, as she sat chewing on some stew with what she presumed to be beef, she thought about a plan of action. She could demand to be dropped off at the nearest port, thank them all for their hospitality but insist they didn’t need to take her any further...but she didn’t know how long it was until she’d see land again...and on top of that she found herself not really wanting to leave. Even though she kept to her room most of the time, that was self imposed and probably more out of habit than anything. She hadn’t had such freedom that the boat provided her in what was probably years.

It was at that moment she decided to take the doctor’s advice and start going up on deck more. She’d not entirely forgiven Mila, but it was enough that she didn’t want to to avoid her all the time now. Finishing her food, she left the empty tray where she normally did and made her way up on deck. She passed a couple of people who didn’t pay her any mind, probably too busy to keep the ship running to notice the random girl that spent most of her time hidden in her room. She did however receive a small smile from who felt like on of the four women on board. She had similar features to the Doctors...what was his name...Yuuri? Maybe they were born in the same area? Just like how she and Michele kind of looked like Celestino because they were all born in Italy.

She hummed in thought and finally came out on deck, all of the others rushing around and doing the things they needed to to keep the ship moving. The skies were blue with little clouds, but even from the doorway she could feel the breeze that was pushing them through the water, and in her inexperienced mind she didn’t see why they had to move around so fast. After looking around for a minute, she couldn’t see Mila anywhere, but she did spot Yuuri looking at some paper and chewing on a pen. He seemed to notice her watching him, as he looked up at her and smiled warmly, waving her over.

“Good to see you out and about my Lady.” He greeted her properly, even bowing a little.

“Please, no need for that, Sara will do just fine.” Sara sighed, leaning on the railing next to him.

“Well Sara, it really is good to see you out on deck. I was worried we were going to have to drag you out so you didn’t get sick.”

“I could have got sick?!” She gasped, purple eyes wide.

“I was kidding.” He laughed. “Never been on a boat before have you?”

“No I haven’t. My brother never let me.”

“Sounds like your brother had a bit of a superiority complex.”

“Yeah...yeah I suppose he did.”

“You know that’s why Mila was so insistent on saving you. She’s spent years building up a reputation for herself so the day we hit your city we’d be taken seriously. Still ordered us not to hurt civilians, so she knew what she was doing.”

“Wait wait wait.” Sara stopped him. “Years? How long had she been planning this?”

“Well...I joined the crew 10 years ago...so I watched her grow up...and she’d been planning it then...even discussing it with Viktor and the Captain.”

“Old Captain? Who’s that?”

“I uh...I think that’s her story to tell you. You should give her a chance to catch up anyway, but she’s a little busy now.”

Sara followed his gaze to where she discovered Mila was, at the wheel, giving orders to her men while Viktor seemed to be reading off something to her. They worked like a well oiled machine, every man seeming to respect Mila and her authority. She’d heard stories of pirates never letting women on boats, let alone leading them, yet here Mila was, commanding them all with an intense gaze that made her shudder.

“She’s good at it. No doubt about that.” Yuuri smiled, watching her watch Mila.

“She really must have worked hard to get here...I can’t imagine…”

“You were born with privilege, she had to earn it. Nothing against you Sara, but it’s clear you’ve never really had to work for anything have you?”

“No you’re right...I’ve always had everything handed to me…”

She looked back at Mila, who had caught her eye and smiled softly down at her. The small part of her that had slowly been building up to talk to her burned and died, with the blood rising to her cheeks she turned away, not wanting the other girl to see. However, she forgot that she was still technically in a conversation with Yuuri, who smirked a little at the blush.

“Wha-what?!”

“Nothing nothing.” He raised his hands in self defence.

The princess noticed the ring on his finger again and started to wonder about it again. She didn’t doubt that one of the other crew members had the title of his husband, but the only thing she was sure on was that it wasn’t either of the girl’s she had seen or Mila. That didn’t really cut down the list of subjects, but she didn’t know if she was confident enough to ask about it.

“Something wrong?” Yuuri asked her, raising his eyebrows.

“Oh...um...I was just wondering...you uh...mentioned you were married...and I uh…?”

“You want to know about him? Turn around, I’ll point him out.”

The princess turned and tried to work out which of the five men up there Yuuri could be married to. It didn’t seem likely that the over confident silver haired one would match the quiet, shy doctor, maybe the short, broad tanned one with an undercut? Or maybe the thinner tanned man...who seemed to vibrate with excitement constantly even though they weren’t particularly doing anything. The other two, a smaller boy with blonde hair and an odd streak of red at the front and a man with black swoopy hair who looked like he was about to commit murder, also didn’t really seem like Yuuri’s type...but she didn’t know Yuuri that well so she only knew his type was male.

“Wanna guess?”

“Uuuh...The tanned excitable one?” She still wasn’t sure.

“Close. He’s my best friend. Again?”

“Ugh!” She sighed, rolling her eyes. “I’m bad at this, who is it?”

“See the silver haired one?” He waited for her to nod. “Him. He’s my husband. First mate Viktor Katsuki-Nikiforov.”

“You married the First Mate?!” She turned to him, more than a little shocked.

“Yes. Well...after months of him whining and begging and buying me things, half of which I felt bad about taking, but...he was persistent if nothing else.”

“So why’d you marry him?”

“Well...once he dropped the whole act, I found he was rather charming in his own way, and he makes me laugh. Always get a person who can make you laugh.”

She laughed a little, then looked back to Mila, who was now alone and leaning against the wheel. The princess thought back to all the times the red head had made her laugh, despite her unhappy situation, despite being homeless, she’d always managed to forget her own troubles and bring a smile to Sara’s face. Maybe that’s why she made such a good captain, she put the crew, the people she cared about above herself.

Needing some time alone to make some decisions, Sara waved goodbye to Yuuri, leaving just in time for him to get dive bombed by his husband. She looked back at them for a second, and now they were together she could see how in love they were. She could see it in the slight frustration in Yuuri’s eyes, in the way his lips curved upwards just a little bit. She could see it in the way the First Mate, Viktor, clung to him as if he’d die without contact, in the gentle kisses he pressed to his husband’s tanned cheeks. It made her yearn for it a little bit, from that kind of contact from someone, anyone. She knew that was a lie though...even if she didn’t want to admit it quite yet, she knew there was only one person she’d accept it from.

Settling back onto her bed in the safety of her room, she closed her eyes and let her mind wander. What would happen if she let Mila in, if she finally got the courage to talk to her, not only about what happened but about these weird feelings in her chest? Yuuri had been right, when she’d thought he and Mila were together it had felt like what she imagined being shot felt like. And the relief...go the relief when she realised they weren’t...where had that even come from?! It made no sense to her!

***

“Leo? How long till we get to the next port?” Mila asked, not looking at the long haired man next to her.

“About another day ma’am. Can’t go much faster than we already are though.”

“Fastest boat on the ocean. Can’t ask much more of her. And Leo I’ve told you a dozen times, Mila will do just fine.”

The boy nodded and headed back to his duties, making the red head roll her eyes at him. Some of her crew could be so formal, even though she’d lead them for two years. Then again...two years wasn’t too long a time when she really thought about it. She yawned quietly, rubbing tears from her eyes as she tried to keep awake. In the few days since Sara had come aboard, it had felt like an eternity since she’d last gotten a proper night’s sleep.

“Milaaa~!” She heard her First Mate cry behind her.

“What is it, Viktor? I’m busy…” She sighed, forcing her eyes open.

“Doing what?! Keeping the boat straight? Yeah cause you can do that while half asleep. Go to bed.”

“What did you want?” Mila looked at him, blue eyes narrowing.

“To tell you to go to bed. And that Yuuri says if you don’t get more sleep he’s going to tie you to your bed.”

“Tell Yuuri that I’ll go to bed when I stop being Captain.” She grinned, hip bumping him.

“You’re ridiculous you know that?"

“Oh shut up and let me run my ship.”

“You should talk to her, really. Like actually try talking to her.”

“I did! She didn’t open the door, she didn’t even respond to me! She probably hates me…"

“You…” Viktor groaned, holding his head in one hand. “And you say I’m bad. Go to bed Mila, I’ll handle things here.”

“But-”

“No buts! Doctor’s orders!”

“But you’re not the Doctor…” Mila deadpanned, letting him push her towards the stairs.

“No, but I’m his husband. So same thing really.”

Mila bit back a retort about how it really wasn’t the same thing, but finally gave in and headed back to her cabin. Maybe those two were right...maybe she really did need some sleep. Thoughts of Sara had kept her up until her body gave up from exhaustion, and even when she woke up late she didn’t feel any less tired...it must have been getting to her if Viktor noticed. She sat on her bed and kicked off her boots, lying back with a sigh of frustration. This was stupid...she was one of the most feared pirate captains on the sea not some silly little girl with a crush on her best friend. In truth...that reality hadn’t been too long ago, even if it felt longer than it was.

“Dammit...what have I gotten myself into…” She whispered to the ceiling, letting her eyes close.


	8. Part of the Crew

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuuri properly introduces Sara to the rest of the crew.  
> Apologies are made, but are differences really put to rest?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yaaay interactions with the others!  
> I didn't do absolutely everyone,  
> But you get the point, these are some super nice pirates.

The next morning was what Sara assumed was their last day of sailing, as Mila was nowhere to be seen, and everyone who worked on deck was running around like headless chickens. The only person who didn’t look like he was about to implode was Yuuri, who stood watching the coast go by. They weren’t close to it, but far enough that they wouldn’t attract attention, which was probably for the best for now. Yuuri noticed her loitering and waved her over, looking like there was something urgent he wanted to say.

“How are you?” He asked, when she reached him.

“Is something wrong?” Sara asked, raising her eyebrows.

“Wrong? Oh no! No, since Mila’s busy right now she wanted me to introduce you to the members of the crew you haven’t met yet! Why would something be wrong?”

“I-I dunno...you just looked serious. And Mila’s busy?”

“Yeah, just last minute preparations for docking. I’ve already given her my list of things I need and everyone else likes to leave it till the last minute. Is that ok?”

“Yes! Yes of course it is!”

It was the truth, she didn’t mind Yuuri introducing her to everyone. She found he was actually really great company, and despite being quite shy and introverted he had a really good sense of humour. Sara already knew he was the doctor so he obviously didn’t go into who he was again but before she could think anymore about it, Yuuri was grabbing a man with stubble and blonde hair.

“Chris!” He called, pulling her over.

“Aaah~ Yuuri! Nice to see you! That’s extended to you, mon cher~” The man purred.

“Sara, this is Christophe Giacometti, he’s kind of like Viktor’s second in command and if I’m not wrong they joined the crew at the same time.”

“That is true. It’s good to see you moving around Princess, wouldn’t want you getting sick locked in your room.” He grinned.

Sara frowned, remembering that Yuuri had said that to her before and he’d laughed at her when she’d believed him, so she wasn’t going to fall for it again, especially with this guy, Chris, grinning at her like a feral cat. The Doctor shook his head and sighed, obviously amused.

“Tried that one Chris. She’s not stupid.”

“Yuuri!” He gasped dramatically. “ I can’t believe you would even insinuate that I believed the Princess of my neighbouring country is stupid!”

“Neighbouring country…?” She frowned a little. “Oh! Are you Swiss?”

“Oui oui, mon cher~! Came aboard in France but that’s beside the point. Hope you’re comfortable with us~.”

The Pirate bowed low and kissed her hand, surprisingly formal for someone who was supposed to be a criminal. Sara smiled at him as he sauntered off, pointedly ignoring Yuuri’s eyerolls and disgruntled sighs.

“He’s a flirt, just ignore him.” He told her, patting her should and guiding her away. “Hey Georgi!”

The man Yuuri called to turned around, and Sara immediately noticed that his eyes were red, as if he’d been crying. At first she felt worry hit her in the chest, why would he be crying? Was there something in the water? Is that why he’d stopped moving around the deck like the others!? Yuuri however, didn’t seem phased.

“Georgi, are you ok? Is it Anya?” 

“Ye-yeah...I just...I miss her so much…”

“I know you do...but you have to show her that you don’t need her anymore. Yeah?”

The pale man wiped his nose on his sleeve, a movement that almost urged Sara to lend him her handkerchief...almost. Yuuri let him get back to whatever work he was in the middle of doing, and looked apologetically at her.

“Anya was Georgi’s girlfriend, but she left him when we were last in Russia. He’s ah...still not quite come to terms with it. Don’t worry. He’ll be fine.”

“R-right."

After that he introduced her to the other couple on board, Yuuko and Takeshi, came from Japan just like Yuuri. The younger man told her how they actually knew each other before the joined the crew, and it was pure coincidence that they ended up here together. Yuuko, Sara found, was really nice and even offered to braid her hair later to keep it out of her way.  

“Did you like...grow up together?” Sara asked as the two walked away.

“Kind of. We lived in the same area. I think there’s one more person up here I wanted you to meet…” He trailed off as he looked around.

Sara followed his gaze, and soon he was waving over the tanned man she’d thought he was married to which...made her blush. He walked over, or maybe skipping was a more appropriate word for it, and practically draped himself on Yuuri’s shoulders.

“Yuuriiii I’m bored!” He whined.

“Then why don’t you give Mila the list of things you need?”

“Chris is already doing iiiiiit!”

Sara couldn’t help but stifle a laugh at the two. Yuuri had said the other day that they were best friends, and despite her very little experience with with friends she could see that they were very close. The tanned man seemed to suddenly notice that she was there, and a bright grin spread across his face.

“Princess! I finally get to meet you!” 

“Sara’s just fine...uh…” She realised she still didn’t know his name.

“Phichit Chulanont at your service. I hope Yuuri’s taking good care of you~!”

“Phichit. Shut up…” Yuuri sighed, jabbing his friend in the ribs with his elbow.

“It’s nice to meet you too. Yuuri’s just introducing me to everyone.”

“Has she met the gun crew yet?” Yuuri shook his head. “Ooooh have fun. You got the biggest range of people who all somehow manage to work together really well.” 

With a quiet giggle, he left Yuuri alone to go find some other way to spend his time, and after finding Guang-Hong in the kitchen with Leo, another deckhand who insisted that he wasn’t flirting with the chef, he believed that was everyone above deck bar Viktor she needed to meet. 

“I’ll warn you now...One of the Gun Crew...he’s a little angry. And another is quite...I dunno...energetic. If you feel like you’re being overwhelmed, just let me know ok?”

Sara nodded and followed him below deck. Surely the two he mentioned weren’t that bad...right? The first face they met was a serious looking guy a bit taller than her, and he didn’t really seem too bothered about who Yuuri was introducing him to. 

“Yeah...right. Yuuri if you see Yura can you let him know I’m looking for him?”

“Huh? Oh yeah sure. Did you too have a fight?”

“Kind of...it’s complicated. Just tell him if you see him.” 

“Will do.”

The man nodded as he headed off, and Sara watched him go in slight confusion. What the heck was that about, every other time she’d seen that guy he’d always seemed very closed off, yet here he was looking like the sky was about to come crashing down on him.

“Otabek’s kind of in charge of the gun crew, just keeps them in order. But...if he’s had a fight with Yuri then…”

“Yuri?”

“One of the others who work down here! Ah, wait! Yuri!” 

Sara turned to follow his gaze and saw the angry looking girl she’d seen around, so her name was Yuri? That was a funny coincidence since she was speaking to another Yuuri, but the younger one didn’t seem all that happy to be summoned like that.

“What do you want?” Yuri growled.

“Come over here and meet Sara!”

“Yeah whatever hi.” She rolled her eyes and came over, and Sara noticed that she was actually really tall.

“Wow. You’re really tall for a girl.” She whispered, not meaning to say it out loud.

“GIRL?! WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, BITCH?!”

“Sara! Yuri’s a boy!”

“O-oh! I am so sorry!” She gasped.

“Tch...whatever. Just stay out of my way princess.” Yuri spat, before turning and storming off.

“Oh, Yuri! Wait a sec! Otabek wanted to talk to you!”

“I DON’T CARE! HE CAN TALK TO MY ASS!” 

Sara’s eyes widened as she watched the younger boy stormed off, swearing quietly under his breath. She’d never met such an aggressive person, especially one with such a foul mouth. The princess looked at Yuuri, who simply chuckled and rolled his eyes, obviously not too concerned.

“Don’t worry about him. He’s like a feral cat, angry until you get to know him. He tries to hide it but we all know he has a thing with Otabek. They must have had an argument. Oh, there’s Minami.”

The princess looked over and saw the guy with blonde and red hair, and the minute he laid his eyes on Sara he ran for her, forcing her to back up against a wooden pillar. He got uncomfortably close to her, looking at her with a what seemed like a suspicious glare.

“U-um…” She mumbled.

“You know your eyes are purple? Is that normal?” He eventually asked.

“Minami! Don’t be rude!” Yuuri cried, trying to pull him away.

“Yes it is. Your hair is red, is that normal?” She shot back, raising an eyebrow.

“Um…” He mumbled, pausing for a minute. “Alright, well played. Nice to meet you Princess Sara! The captain must be really happy to have you here!”

“What?”

“I have to go now! But have fun yeah? We’re like a big family! Even though Yurio doesn’t like to act for it!” Before she could say any more he ran off, skipping a little.

“What was that about? And who’s Yurio?” Sara was so confused.

“Yurio is what most of the crew call Yuri, apart from me and Otabek. Viktor started it and it just caught on. And that last comment...well...I told you how much Mila wanted to keep her promise to you.”

Sara paused, thinking about what she was being told. Eventually though, she realised she couldn’t keep ignoring this...or Mila...anymore, she just couldn’t do it. For a second the princess chewed on her lip, quietly following as Yuuri introduced her to the last couple of people, including his husband who seemed really pleasant but right now she couldn’t care less. 

“Um...Yuuri, is it ok if I go see Mila? Or will she be busy…?”

“Oh!” He grinned. “I’m sure she’d love to see you. Go ahead. Look for the big ornate door. You can’t miss it.”

She nodded in thanks, heading up to where the cabins were, trying to plan out what she was going to say. Naturally the minute she got in sight of that door, all the air left her lungs and she lost any idea of what she wanted to talk about. After a minute of staring at the door, trying to work up the courage to actually knock, she managed to bang her fist against the wood. But that ended up only hurting hand.

“Yes what is it I’m-” Mila opened the door, her eyes widening. “Sa-Sara?”

“Hey...um...can I talk to you? I mean if your busy it’s fine…” She rubbed the back of her neck.

“Oh um...yeah sure come in.” 

Sara hadn’t set foot in any room other than her own since coming on the boat, but coming into Mila’s was a massive shock. It was just as ornate as the door suggested, dark wood, red fabric...exactly what she’d always envisioned a captain’s bedroom to look like, and yet it was extremely Mila. She sat on her desk, despite having an obviously comfier chair behind her.

“What’s up?” She asked, resting her chin on her knee.

“Oh...I uh..um…” Sara couldn’t get her words out, but the red head only smiled softly.

“Can I start then?” She waited for the princess to nod before continuing. “I’m sorry, I really am, for being rough with you. I panicked and I just...you know…”

“Oh!” She gasped. “No! I came here to apologise to you!”

“What?!”

“I wanted to apologise...I forgot the promise we made...and you spent all this time trying to keep it.”

“Oh...oh Sara...don’t apologise! It was a really long time ago! Honestly, I shouldn’t have expected you to remember. We can take you back if you want?”

“Oh um…” The thing was...she didn’t know if she wanted that now. “Only if you head back that way. I don’t want to cause you trouble.”

“Sara.” Mila laughed, it was high and light and made her heart flutter. “We’re pirates. Trouble kinda follows us, Princess.” 

Sara giggled, and the two of them laughed together for the first in years, and though neither of them were aware, the other was secretly ridiculously happy to hear the sound again. When they eventually calmed down, they smiled at each other, any ice between them finally thawed out, and without really thinking Sara pulled the younger girl into a tight hug.

“I’m so glad you’re ok. Everytime I asked my only contact to the outside...he said you’d probably died of something.”

“I’m sorry they said that to you...I’m sorry they lied to you…” She whispered into her hair. “Hey, we’re docking tomorrow, I wanna show you somewhere. Come with me?”

“Yeah sure. Will it be ok for me to leave the ship? I mean...people will know me…”

“Don’t worry. You can wear a scarf around your nose and mouth, and I think some of my clothes should fit you.”

“Can I wear you coat?” A small smirk decorates her lips.

“No, Captain’s coat is worn by the captain.” She grinned and winked.

The idea of going around with Sara again made her excited, and she couldn’t help but hug her again. It felt so comforting to just be held in her arms again, in a way she couldn’t really explain, nicer than the rare times her parents had hugged her, and whenever her brother had tried to as well. Which in a way was kind of weird, and yet she couldn’t bring herself to care all that much.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The two girls finally get to catch up.  
> But Sara's not sure how much she likes her friend's new life style.

Leaving the ship was terrifying, but as Yuuko dressed Sara in a skirt that Mila said she hadn’t worn in forever, and a form fitting blouse she realised that it wasn’t difficult for her to look completely unlike herself. With her hair pulled back into a long braid down her back and a red scarf wrapped around the lower half of her face she could barely recognise herself. 

“You look amazing! Fit right in with us now!” Yuuko grinned.

“Yeah, I guess I do. Can’t imagine what my brother would think if he saw me.” She laughed a little.

“Well, if he doesn’t think you’re beautiful, then he’s blind as they say. The Captain’s really lucky to have you.”

“Huh?” She turned to face her.

“Aaah nothing! Ignore me~! Now go on! She’s waiting outside for you.”

Without elaborating on what she meant, the Japanese woman pushed the princess out of the room and straight into Mila, who caught her without hesitation. After a second of staring at each other, Sara stood upright, and blushed under her scarf.

“Wow! You look great Sara! A real Pirate princess!”

“Oh please, I’m nothing to the pirate queen herself.” Sara shot back, grinning.

The princess what wasn’t exaggerating, Mila looked gorgeous. Tight red trousers, boots that reached just under her knee, a blouse tighter than Sara’s that still didn’t look like it impeded her movement, her long coat trailing behind her, all topped off with her massive hat and painted red lips. The vision of a pirate, and Sara would be lying if she said the image of her friend didn’t make her feel a little warm. 

“Ha! I’m not quite there yet Princess. Come on, we’re ok to disembark, so I’m ready when you are!”

“I’m ready!” 

Sara noticed Mila blushed as she turned away, but decided not to comment on it. She was probably just surprised to see her wearing something that didn’t reach the floor, still she felt she could get used to wearing stuff like this. It was a lot less restricting and she could run five feet without tripping over her skirts which was always a bonus. As they passed Viktor and Chris, the Swiss man whistled at her, only to get an elbow in the ribs from Viktor. What was that about? Those two were so weird, but she decided to focus on staying close to Mila, cause as soon as they were off the boat, they were surrounded by people.

“Stay close to me yeah?” The red head whispered in her ear, sending a shudder through her body.

“O-ok.” 

Sara grabbed Mila’s arm and stayed as close as she could without being on top of her, which was lucky as she could guarantee she would have gotten lost already if she was alone. This hadn’t seemed like a small place before, but now it looked massive, especially with all people around them. Mila, however, seemed to know exactly where she was going and how to get there, which Sara was incredibly thankful for. 

Eventually they made their way out of the main city and off into a forest, which was something Sara had never seen before and was enchanted by. She wondered if the stories she’d read about fairies and other mythical creatures were actually real and lived here. Unfortunately, it was as if Mila could read her mind, and let out a soft chuckle.

“No, you won’t see any fairies, or unicorns, or elves here. Or anywhere else. So don’t bother.”

“Aaw...crush my dreams why don’t you?”

“Hey, you’re already living two dreams right? Going on a boat and getting out the castle.”

She fell silent, quickly realising Mila was right. Not only had she gotten out of the castle, she’d been on a boat...and Mila had brought her that. Not in a conventional way, but still...she’d done it...and that definitely counted for something. Soon, they reached the top of a hill, and came out in a clear next to a cliff, where they could clearly see where they were docked. It was beautiful.

“Wow…” She whispered, looking around.

“Pretty right? I used to come here all the time.” Mila grinned, setting her coat down for them to sit on. 

So then they sat in silence for a while, watching the people move around the port, miraculously somehow spotting Viktor and his silver hair among them. Eventually, Sara found herself growing curious how Mila had come to be here, a pirate captain. She looked at the other girl, watching her facial movements, trying to take in everything she’d missed in 8 years, however it wasn’t until the red head turned to her she realised she’d been staring. 

“You alright?” She asked.

“Oh! Yeah, yeah I’m fine I just…” She paused, pulling down the scarf. “Can you...tell me how you became a pirate?”

“Huh? Oh sure!” A smirk split her face. “But you have to fill me in on your life first.”

Sara didn’t think what she’d experienced was very exciting, being locked in the castle with a 24/7 guard on her, her parents dying, Mickey becoming King because he was ever so slightly older. Nothing to write home about, and certainly nothing exciting. Yet Mila listened to her, enraptured, as if she was telling her the most exciting story she’d ever heard.

“Wow…” She sighed once Sara had finished. “You’ve had it pretty rough…”

“Hardly. It wasn’t great but I still had the privileges that came with being a princess. My people on the other hand…” The princess left it open for Mila to start if she wanted.

“You got that right. Welp...my turn.” She took a deep breath. “They weren’t exactly gentle when they kicked me out of the castle that day, told me to get lost. I still came back though. Stubborn ass kid, thought I actually stood a chance of getting to see you. After a couple of weeks this really tall guy with funky eyebrows said if I didn’t stay away he’d have me killed...so that’s when I gave up.”

“Eyebrows...Celestino…”

“You know him?” 

“Yeah he...he’s the guy who chased us...who told me...he hadn’t seen you…”

“Damn…” She bit back the comment on her lips and continued. “Anyway...I went back to my life before you...or tried to...I could never really stop thinking about you...but things got slowly worse. I wasn’t eating, I wasn’t sleeping...I felt like I was dying.

“But then...the old man found me. He was a captain, big strong, just the kind of captain I’d promised you I’d become. He found me hiding under the gangplank of the ship, hiding cause the guards had tried to get me but I was too exhausted to run...He took me in, I think only Viktor, Chris, Seung-Gil and Phichit were part of the crew, and I came to learn that I’d been taken in by one of the most feared pirates on the sea. Captain Yakov.

“There was a different crew by then, but slowly old members left and new ones came in, until we have the crew we had today. Those original four saw me grow from a quiet, terrified little girl...into what I am now. Yakov was like a father to me, so was Viktor in a way, they loved me in a way I’d never been loved before, and I finally felt safe.”

“Can…” Sara cleared her throat. “Can I ask what happened to him?”

“He died...he got sick one day and it was the one thing Yuuri couldn’t cure...I was devastated...this man was my father, he’d built me up to be someone you could be proud of, who could save you from a world I presumed you still hated. For weeks I didn’t know what to do...I locked myself in my room, I cried, I screamed, I acted like a brat again...it wasn’t until Viktor and Yuuri bust the door down that I finally calmed down.

“They hugged me...and told me that the crew had unanimously decided that I should take over the role of captain. I was...god I was 16...but they all promised to help me, Viktor guided me and kind of filled the hole Yakov had left. And in the two years between then and now, I built my reputation, and became almost as feared as Yakov was when he was alive. I never used his name to make them fear me, I got where I am off my own back. So maybe people don’t take kindly to pirates...but I don’t care...I’m proud of who I am…”

The whole speech left Sara almost in tears. Mila made Sara look like the privileged little rich girl she was, and yet she didn’t seem to hate her...she’d worked so hard to save her. And yet there was one niggling detail at the back of her mind. If the pirate had to work her way to making people fear her...had she needed to kill people?

“Sara? Something wrong?”

“No it’s just...I just wondered...if you’d ever killed someone…?”

“Well yeah, killed my first person at 14, why?”

“You...you killed someone! A human being!” 

“A human being who would have assaulted me had I not defended myself! Human beings who attacked my ship without concern for if it was a passenger vessel! No flag was out that day! There could have been innocents!”

“Still! There should have been another way!”

“Another way?! Sara, these people...were worse than me...they killed, assaulted...without concern of who it was they were hurting. I have never hurt an innocent.” 

“But you’ve killed...people.”

“And you’re telling me your family hasn’t? Hasn’t starved the people they lock away from the street? Hasn’t killed people for going against the religion you hold so precious? I know none of that was you, I know I’ve killed people, but please...please don’t act like I’m worse than them.” 

Mila got to her feet, keeping her back to Sara who silently got up too. She didn’t know why she felt so conflicted about this, she knew Mila was a pirate and pirates had to kill people. So why did the idea of her friend killing someone just made her feel a bit...strange. Either way, Mila pulled her coat back on, and Sara pulled the scarf around her mouth as they headed back. She stayed as close as she could again, but she couldn’t bring herself to actually cling onto her. Part of her felt a little bad...but killing was wrong right? In any sense...right?

“I have things to do. I think Yuuri and Viktor around somewhere so if you wanna talk to them I’m sure they’ll keep you busy for a while.” She started to walk off.

“Where are you going?!” 

“To do my job, Sara!” 

The princess had never imagined Mila would get mad about this, or maybe she was just annoyed. Still, she felt like a knife had been put in her stomach and she didn’t like it. The day had started off great, and she was glad she knew more about Mila now but...well in perspective there was no way she’d have been able to avoid the knowledge of her friend killing people. That just posed one question in her head...would Mila kill for her? If she was in danger, actual serious danger...would Mila actually take a person’s life? This was the question spinning through her head when she went inside to look for Yuuri and Viktor. She’d rather not spend time on her own right now, and those two had been the easiest to get along with right off the bat, especially since Yuuri was close to her own age.

As she walked, the image of Mila drenched in someone else’s blood plagued her mind. Thing about that was...the context for the image her brain came up with didn’t make it unappealing. Someone had tried to attack Sara, and Mila had quickly run to her defense, ending up covered in the faceless man’s blood...She chewed her lip and shook her head. That image was not as disgusting as she wanted it to be and she needed it out of her head now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So! Important announcements!  
> Firstly, this chapter is early since I'm moving house and I'm not gonna have access to my laptop or any internet on Saturday.  
> I'd rather it go up early than late so here we are.  
> Secondly, this story and this account in general is going on Hiatus for a while.  
> So far with this I've been noticing such a lack of response and I really appreciate the people who have responded.  
> It's just...as of right now I don't think I can keep writing it for the sake of it.   
> I'm enjoying the story don't get me wrong, but I'm not really getting anything from it.  
> I think it's because having Mila and Sara as the main characters is what's doing it, I suppose they're kind of...less searched for.  
> So, my plan is to get some other projects finished, which may or may not be uploaded here.   
> There's a story of my own that I wrote YEARS ago that I wanna rewrite now that I have more experience and I really wanna sort it.   
> I don't know AO3's policy on uh...own stories, but depending on that I may or may not upload it here alongside Our Promise Kept when it comes back.  
> So that's about it, hopefully while I'm gone I'll find my inspiration for this, cause I really don't want to drop it.  
> Enjoy what's out so far and see you when I come back!


	10. Making Things Better

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sara wants to make things right.  
> Mila worries that Sara might never look at her again.  
> Everyone else just wants to help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo yo yo guess who's back from Hiatus!!!  
> I wasn't originally planning to come back until next month but I recently got an email requesting this work be put in the Mila/Sara collection.  
> It kinda helped me get past whatever was stopping me from writing this.   
> SO NOW WE'RE BACK!!!

Sara ended up looking all over the ship for the two of them, but it wasn’t until she got back to the deck that she found Yuuri on his own, staring wistfully out over the port looking...actually rather ruffled. His hair was standing up at various angles, his cheeks were flushed, and his lips looked redder than usual. She stood next to him looking off in the same direction, he acknowledged her with a quick look in her direction.

“You alright? I thought you were going out with the captain?”

“Yeah...anyway what about you? You look like you were roughed up or something.”

“Oh! Oh no um...Viktor...he um...you know…” He held up the hand with his wedding band.

“Say no more.”

“And what about you and the captain?”

“Ah...I uh...I think...I think I messed up?”

“Think is a bit of a way of putting it. She headed out with Leo, Guang-Hong, Chris and Viktor for something but they should be back soon. So what happened?"

She explained how Mila had told her everything about how she’d grown up, and to his credit Yuuri listened in totally silence. Obviously he was processing what she was telling him, and when she finished a small sigh escaped his lips.

“Sara, we’re pirates. As much as you may want to think the best of us we have to kill to stay alive. On the water, it’s kill or be killed. Hell, I’ve had to kill people. But it’s always in defense. I’ve killed people to protect Viktor, Viktor’s killed to protect me, Mila’s killed to protect all of us at one point or another.” 

“I know I know it’s just...shocking. I guess it didn’t register that she’s not the same little girl I met all those years ago.”

“It’s understandable. And I’m sure Mila will understand once she calms down.” 

“Is everything she said true? About Captain Yakov...and all that…”

“I don’t know what exactly she told you, but she isn’t one to lie. Especially about the old Captain.”

“Great…” She sighed. “Damn...I feel so bad now! I should get her something to apologise.”

“You don’t have to, but if you really want to. I’ll come with you though, I doubt you really know the port.” 

The pirate Doctor lead the way, allowing Sara to hold his arm so she didn’t get lost, both in the port and his her own head. She thought hard about what she could get Mila, something to apologise but wouldn’t be too flashy or too much, but she couldn’t really think of something that fit her idea.

“So what were you thinking?” Yuuri asked her eventually.

“I don’t know…maybe some jewellery? If...if you and Viktor got in a fight, what would you do?”

“Well…” He sighed, smiling softly. “A couple of years ago Viktor and I did get in a fight. Thinking back it was my fault, we were in a battle, he wasn’t doing so good. I couldn’t just stand and watch him get hurt. So I got between them, got a little hurt, nothing fatal. But...Viktor got mad, saying I should have stayed back. We didn’t speak to each other for a few days, I thought I hadn’t done anything wrong. Then Mila put it in perspective and I...I felt like I needed to do something to apologise.”

Sara looked at him, wondering what he gave him, and that’s when he held up his hand to show the rings on his finger, specifically pointing to the golden one that glinted in the sunlight. The more she stared at it, the brighter it seemed to get.

“It started off as just a gift...but then well...after I gave Viktor his he took mine...and proposed to me.” 

“That’s...really cute. But I don’t think I wanna take that risk. Maybe a bracelet or something?” 

“Follow me! I know just the place.” 

He pulled her along to a nearby stall where there were rows and rows of different kinds of jewellery piercings, to hair clips, to bracelets. One in particular caught her eye, it was silver and had Rubies and Sapphires embedded into it, and it reminded her of the pirate in every way. The silver was the paleness of her skin, the Rubies were her hair, and the Sapphires were her eyes. It was perfect, and with help from Yuuri to get a decent price, she bought it for her friend and wrapped it in the nondescript paper bag she was given it in.

“She’ll love it.”

As they headed back to the ship, Sara came up with a plan in her head, namely of what she wanted to out on the note she was going to leave with her gift. Something simple to let her know she was sorry for what she said, and she just found it strange to know her best friend had taken a life. Back on the boat, she only ended up scribbling two words on a piece of paper, tucking it in the bag with the bracelet, before scurrying over to Mila’s room and placing it on her desk. She quickly left the room, not wanting to get caught in there...she just hoped the other girl would like it.

***

Mila sat in her office, chewing on a pencil until she could feel it crack between her teeth. Why the hell had Sara thrown a fit because a  _ pirate _ killed people?! And why the hell was she  _ crying  _ about it? She was a pirate! She shouldn’t cry just cause a girl yelled at her for doing her job! It was kind of in the job description if she wanted to survive, never mind protecting the people she cared about. Viktor, the two Yu/uri’s, Chris who she considered family, even Leo and Guang-Hong...she’d protect them all, even if that meant taking a life.

“Captain~?” Viktor called through the door.

“Enter.” She replied, running her fingers through her hair.

“Captain! Chris was wondering if you wanted...are you ok?”

“Hm?” She turned to him, rubbing her eyes. “No yeah I’m fine. What does Chris want?”

He frowned and shut the door behind him, giving the two of them a little bit of privacy for what the red head knew was coming next. Yakov was the same way, if Mila looked like she’d been crying, even if she hadn’t, then he’d shut the door and talk to her like an adult. Viktor gave her a soft but encouraging look.

“Fine...I took Sara to that place earlier...and it was all fine...until she asked about if I’d killed someone…”

“Ah...so what are you gonna do?”

“I don’t know! She probably doesn’t want to talk to me again…”

“Well Chris just wanted to know if you wanted to come with us, Guang-Hong and Leo to get special weapons. They’ve been together for a year so they want to get each other something special, and your birthday came and went while we were at sea so Chris and I wanted to get you a new sword.”

“Is that really the best idea considering Sara’s mad at me for using a sword to kill people?”

“No objections! Come on!”

“Wait! Viktor!”

Without listening to her protests, Viktor pulled the younger girl out into the port where the other three were waiting. All of them had seen the storm cloud that was their captain when she’d boarded and they all agreed that she needed time to cool off before talking to Sara again. Guang-Hong and Leo chatted with her, the shorter boy going through his plans for rations and how long the things he’d gotten when he’d come ashore earlier.

“So why do you think she was so upset by what the princess though?”

“Her ladyship was the Captain’s first friend. How would you feel if I pretty much called you a murderer for defending yourself?”

“Fair, fair. And you think a new sword will make her feel better?”

“When did it not?”

The Swiss man rolled his eyes, but he knew Viktor wasn’t wrong. Mila was always pretty happy when practicing her sword work, so she seemed to cheer up the closer her sword got to being finished. It ended up being a beautiful piece of weaponry, lethal but stunning. The two older men had paid extra to have her initials cut into the blade, M.B, and Mila was as happy as Viktor predicted to hold the new weapon in her hand.

“Is it ok if I practice with it when we get back?” She asked, eyes wide like a child.

“Mila you’re the captain.” Viktor chuckled, ruffling her hair. “You don’t need to ask.”

She grinned at the two older men and sheathed the new sword, handing the swordsmith her old beaten up one in exchange for a bit of money. Leo gifted Guang-Hong a dagger, even though the chef didn’t normally fight, he still wanted him to be able to protect himself should the need arise, and the shorter boy returned that with a locket. The pirate captain grinned and congratulated the two of them, and followed them back to the boat.

“Are you gonna speak to the Princess?” Chris asked.

“No...I’m gonna leave her a bit longer. I’m gonna grab something from my room and get some practice in before we call it a night.”

“Alright, don’t stay up too late.” Viktor ruffled her hair again.

The Captain went back to her cabin, feeling significantly better than she heard earlier and chewed her lip as her fingers danced on the hilt of her sword. Things were more different than she’d realised, more than just Sara getting used to her position, more than just her becoming a pirate...everything was different. She gave a deep sigh and shut the door behind her, intending to just get a clip to push her hair out of her face, when she noticed a paper bag sitting innocently on her desk. 

“What the…?”

Mila tentatively opened the bag, and her eyes widened when she saw a beautiful silver bracelet sitting there, with a note, probably from whoever had left it. She picked up the note and read over it.

“ _ Mila, have this. I’m sorry. Sara. _ ”

She smiled softly and slid the bracelet on to her wrist, noticing the details and how pretty it was. Figuring Yuuri had talked to her about something, the pirate headed back towards the place she’d originally taken Sara to get some practice in with the new sword. It was perfect. On top of that, the way Sara’s bracelet glinted in the setting sunlight beautifully, and she could only think of how she was falling in love with the princess more and more.

“Mmm...What do I do Yakov…? She’s a princess and I’m...well…” 

A harsh wind blew against her legs, and she could imagine him sending it at her from the sea, telling her not to doubt her feelings because of social status, and that she was more than worthy to try and woo her.

“Yeah yeah, I hear you old man...but you know...she probably hates me now…”

Another soft breeze hit her, and she rolled her eyes at it. Sometimes she really did feel like she was talking to Yakov when she spoke to the wind like this, but it was the little comforts that kept her sane when they’d been at sea for months. 

“I get it, I gotta do what I gotta do...but damn the look she gave me actually hurt.”

The sun broke through the clouds then, and Mila smiled at feeling the warmth on her face. Some days, she couldn’t help but feel like Yakov had died and become the weatherman...which made way too much sense since the weather had always seemed to do what he wanted when he was alive. With a deep sigh, she pulled a small purple flower out of the ground and held it over the cliff, thinking briefly that it reminded her of Sara’s eyes before letting it get taken away by the wind to places unknown. It may have just been a little flower, but seeing it fly, seeing it go on its own little adventure.


	11. Towards a New Start

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Words are had between the girls.  
> The crew decide an intervention needs to be had.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quite an uneventful chapter...  
> But it's more for the development of the relationship between Sara and Mila.  
> There are quite a few chapters like this, which is why it's so long.

The next morning, Sara watched as the crew made final preparations to sail with Yuuri. There wasn’t much either of them could do, the Doctor had already prepared everything he’d needed to and Sara was...well...she’d be more of a hindrance than a help. She let her eyes wander over the main deck and took in something she hadn’t seen before. The princess had heard stories of how a crew would prepare to sail but...it was nothing compared to actually seeing it. First off, all the men were shirtless. To be fair, it was an extremely hot day and they’d all probably die if they did wear shirts, but that didn’t help Yuuri very much as his face was bright red while his eyes tracked Viktor over the deck. 

“You ok?” Sara asked.

“Yeah, just...god he’s so gorgeous~!” The Japanese man whined.

She chuckled and turned back to the crew, trying to spot Mila among the crowd of muscles. That was when she noticed something...very interesting. While the men were totally shirtless, Mila and Yuuko were wearing...something around their chests. It was just like a strip of fabric that covered what it needed to but...damn she didn’t realise Mila was...well...like that. This time it was Yuuri’s turn to smirk at her, as hip bumped her hard enough to almost knock her sideways.

“Wha-what!?”

“See something you like princess?” He grinned, watching her blush.

“She’s um...she’s just...she’s grown up...a lot…” She narrowed her eyes a little, trying to figure out whether hers or Mila’s chest was bigger.

“She has. Tiny little thing she was according to Viktor…” He paused, thinking. “You know I think Viktor has some old photos somewhere, I don’t think he’d mind us looking.”

“Are you sure that’s ok?”

“Of course! Come on!” He grabbed her hand.

The princess was pulled down below deck, past her cabin to where the upper crewmen slept. She figured Yuuri and Viktor would sleep together since they were married, but this room was not what she was expecting. She expected maps everywhere and general untidiness, very similar to Mila’s, but it was actually really organised which was probably down to Yuuri more than Viktor. He slipped under the bed, rummaging around for a second before pulling out a small plain box and grinning at her. 

“Is that…?”

“Essentially a box full of the Captain’s baby photos. It might give you a little insight into how to get used to who she is now.” He smiled.

Sara opened the box and was shocked about the sheer amount of photos in there. It was as if Mila’s entire life had been placed inside this box, which was actually kind of cute. She picked up a couple of photos, and she found a face she recognised. Ratty red hair and eyes that looked like rainwater, that was the Mila she’d known. She was clinging to a tall imposing man with a beard who she assumed was Yakov, and Sara remembered how tiny she’d been; thin to the point of being sickly. 

“This was how she looked when we met.” She whispered.

“A tiny little thing wasn’t she? She was a bit older when I met her, but it’s a little shocking it’s the same girl.”

Her response was a hum, as she shuffled through more of the photos and pulled her legs up to sit cross-legged. There were so many photos that showed the slow growth of her friend, healthier, happier, her eyes were brighter, she got taller until she was barely shorter than Viktor. 

“Oh look at this one.” Yuuri held one to her.

It was a picture, Mila a little younger than she was now, standing with a wide stance, hand on her sword, Chris and Viktor behind her glaring menacingly at a group of men in front of them. Sara had to chew her lip to hold back the gasp at the dark look on Mila’s face.

“When was…?”

“This was when another pirate crew tried to raid us. I don’t think they realised who they were dealing with so we decided to have some fun with it. Mila, Viktor and Chris are recognisable as our leaders, so everyone else managed to get them rounded up pretty easily. And out come those three, looking like that, Phichit demanded to take a picture, and lord Mila was terrifying. All of the men looked ready to wet themselves.”

“Wow…” She sighed. “Did she…?”

“Kill them? Yeah, but it was self-defence. We negotiated to let them go and we would let them live, but as they tried to leave they all tried to overpower us again. That was when Viktor and I had that fight.”

“Hmmm…”

“Do you see now? She’s only ever killed to protect us and herself.”

“Yeah...I need to go talk to her.” She got to her feet.

“They should be done now, better catch her before she gets busy again.” He winked as she headed out. 

***

When the princess found Mila, still in the same state of dress she’d been earlier which was not helping her keep her head clear, Viktor had told her to take a minute to relax her muscles so she was lying back against the head of the boat, one leg dangling over the edge. Sara chewed on her lip a little, trying to think of the words she needed to get her point across. Before she could speak, however, Mila seemed to sense her presence and looked up, smiling softly.

“Hey.” 

“Hey...um...about yesterday…?”

“It’s fine.” She sat up, straddling the log-sized pole she was sitting on and patting the space in front of her. 

“I spoke to Yuuri about it. It was just a bit odd, I guess. When I knew you, you were so tiny I couldn’t imagine you…” She sat down.

“Yeah well, that’s thanks to Yakov. There were days I felt like I couldn’t eat anything cause my body wasn’t used to the food, but he’d still find cool ways of getting food in me.”

“Um...I hope it’s ok but Yuuri showed me some old photos of you.”

“What? God, where did he find those?!” She laughed.

“Under his and Viktor’s bed. You were super cute once you stopped looking dead.” Sara grinned.

“Hey!” The pirate smirked. “You try living on those streets for 8 years and not looking dead.”

The two of them laughed for a bit, then Mila started talking about one of the weirdest encounters she’d ever lived through since becoming captain, and she did listen for about the first half of the story, but then something else caught her eye. As the wind blew Mila’s hair around her face, something on her hairline beside her left ear.

“Sara? You alright?” Mila asked, leaning forward.

“Huh? Oh uh...yeah...can I just…” 

The redhead raised an eyebrow, as Sara got close enough that she could reach out and touch the pirate’s face. Both of them blushed, but it wasn’t her face Sara touched. She kept going and threaded her fingers into silky red hair, it was obviously well looked after, pushing it back to reveal that the side was shaved.

“This for a specific reason?” 

“Nah, just a fashion choice. Looks cool though when I’m working and I tie my hair back. You like it~?” She grinned.

“You know…?” The princess mumbled. “I actually really do.” 

“Careful, Princess. You look like you’re falling for me.” Mila chuckled.

As her laugh died, they looked at each other properly for what felt like the first time. Maybe Mila had said it as a joke, but in their heads there was a storm of emotions that neither of them could even think about dealing with. Gracefully hopping around her friend, Mila danced back onto the deck of the ship, trying to hide her blush behind her hand.

“Uh...I should...get back to the wheel...You...um...feel free to do what you want."

Before Sara could stop her, the redhead had run off to relieve Viktor from the wheel, leaving her in a state of confusion as to what the hell that was. The princess looked out in the direction they were heading in and chewed on her lip, she’d been out of the palace for a couple of weeks and things had already gotten so weird.

Unbeknownst to either of them, Chris and Viktor had seen the entire exchange and made the executive decision to do something about this. It was getting ridiculous, seeing the two of them dance around each other when it was clear they wanted each other. The Swiss looked at the First Mate as he placed his index finger on his lips in thought.

“Tell Yuuri to call a crew meeting, with the exception of Mila and naturally Sara. On the quarter-deck, once she’s gone to bed.”

“Yes, sir~!” He set off. 

***

In the end, Yuuri had to officially order Mila to bed as it seemed highly unlikely she was going to go on her own. Sara had retired earlier, but that wasn’t exactly an issue anyway, the princess seemed to like keeping a normal sleep schedule, unlike their captain. Soon everyone was gathered on deck, with Chris keeping the ship steady.

“So, I’m sure we’ve all noticed our Captain’s current fixation on our recent Royal Guest.” Viktor began.

“Oh, I knooow! They’re so cute!” Yuuko sighed, resting her head back against the wood.

“The issue is they’re both afraid.” Yuuri crossed his arm, leaning back into Viktor. “I think Mila’s afraid of chasing Sara away...and Sara…”

“Who knows what the princess is thinking! She’s so hot and cold with the captain!” Yurio growled, not happy with the way their captain was being treated.

“Now now Yurio, I’m sure you yourself know the pain of being in love~!” The Swiss man grinned, looking pointedly at Yuri and Otabek.

“SHUT UP YOU BASTARD!” 

“Yuri! Focus, your own love life can wait for now.” Viktor rolled his eyes.

The blonde growled, hair bristling like a feral cat until Otabek started to run his fingers through it from where he was standing. This only served to prove Chris’ point but the older man decided it was in his best interest not to comment on it again. 

“The issue...I believe lies mainly with Sara for now. She obviously has feelings for the Captain, but she was so sheltered as a child that she never experienced falling in love and coming to terms with it.” Yuuri thought, biting his lip in thought.

“Mmm~ Yuuri’s right. Then the problem is with getting them over whatever barrier is stopping them.” Phichit held his hands out.

“Well, it's obvious with Mila.” Otabek mumbled from where he was still petting Yuri.

“Is it?” The blonde raised an eyebrow.

“Well yeah!” Yuuko clapped her hands together. “She’s scared!”

“Our Captain!? Scared!? Of a Princess?!” 

“Not exactly. It’s more she’s afraid that Sara will only see her as a criminal, and not the young girl who was her friend when they were small. Imagine with you and Otabek-” The younger boy screeched. “-if Otabek was a nobleman and you were still who you are now. Wouldn’t you be afraid to confess in case he laughed and rejected you for being who you are?”

“Yeah...yeah, I guess that makes sense…” He pouted.

“So we need to somehow convince the Captain that Sara would never think of her like that?” Leo raised an eyebrow.

“Wouldn’t she though? We all saw her reaction when she realised that Mila has killed people...what if she’s just staying until her brother comes and we all end up in jail?” Chris muttered darkly.

“I’m not so sure about that.” Yuuri piped up, drawing eyes towards him again.

Viktor felt him shuffle awkwardly, and the Russian understood he was starting to feel anxious at having so many eyes on him again. Despite being one of the oldest members of the crew, he knew Yuuri still sometimes felt like he was the odd one out. He was a Doctor, not meant for fighting. With basic knowledge on how to work a gun and use a sword, he wasn’t much use with the physical work on a ship despite the toned muscle Viktor knew was there. The Russian ran his fingers over Yuuri’s cheek, calming him enough to speak.

“Well, I spoke to Sara when they were...arguing for lack of a better word. She was distraught when she realised how upset she’d made Mila. She does care for her, regardless of her being a pirate or not.”

“Well said Yuuri!” Viktor grinned at him, kissing his cheek. “Let’s make this our own mission crew! Get our Captain and the Princess to get their crap together!”

The group cheered quietly before either heading off to bed or going to their usual night station. Even if it meant going behind Mila’s back, Viktor felt happy with the conclusion they’d come to, especially since Yuuri had made some of the best points. The Doctor in question was about to head back to their room when he looked over his shoulder and gave Viktor a  _ certain _ look. Even without him speaking, the Russian knew exactly what that look meant, and he wondered whether he could get away with just ditching Chris at the helm. Unfortunately, his friend had noticed his husband’s expression, and the conflicted look on his own face.

“Go, I can handle it out here. Just remember to be safe and don’t rock the boat too hard.” The Swiss man smirked.

Despite the over exaggerated eye roll he did, Viktor still gave Chris a thankful pat on the back for relieving him. And despite his silent promise to be safe, the same could not be said about how hard the boat would be rocking.


	12. Discussions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Michele has discussions with JJ  
> Viktor has discussions with Mila  
> Yurio has discussions with Sara  
> And no one is happy about it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haaa...sorry this is a bit late!  
> I read through it while about to upload it yesterday and I suddenly decided that I wasn't happy with it.  
> So it's a day late but it's here!

It had been weeks,  _ WEEKS _ , since Sara had gone missing, and Michele felt like he was going insane at the lack of good news his army was giving him. He needed his little sister back, he hated not knowing if she was alive or dead or worse! Who knew what the filthy pirates would do to her if they didn’t find her quickly! There’d been no sign of her throughout the city so he could only assume they’d they’d taken her away on their ship. This was far from ideal as it meant it’d be harder to track them, luckily he had JJ on his side, and if anyone could find them it would be him. 

“My lord, Sir Leroy has returned.” One of the younger knights told him.

“Good! Bring him to me immediately.”

The King waited impatiently for the man to enter, and he prayed silently that Sara would be with him. He just wanted this whole thing over and done with, and have his sister back where she belonged. As JJ entered the room, Michele immediately noticed he was alone. No long-haired figure behind him, no relieved cry of his name, no nothing. Just JJ looking like he’d rather be anywhere else. 

“Good...good morning your highness…” He mumbled.

“You know what I want to hear JJ...Where is she.”

“I um...I haven’t…”

“Leroy...where is my sister…” The King hissed.

“I...I don’t know my lord...we haven’t been able to track them yet…”

“YOU WHAT?!”

“I’m sorry! We thought they’d headed north based on what we heard from the port but it would seem our sources were wrong. They must have headed south.” He bowed his head.

“IDIOT!” He threw the closest thing he could grab at him, which happened to be a metal goblet. “HOW IS IT THAT I HAVE SUCH IMBECILES IN MY NAVY!?”

“I’m...I’m sorry!”

“FIND HER! AND I SWEAR TO GOD LEROY IF THE NEXT TIME I SEE YOU SHE IS NOT WITH YOU, THERE WILL BE HELL TO PAY!”

The Captain scrambled to leave, trying his hardest not to wet himself. King Michele was a terrifying man, to begin with, ordering his army to drag in the poor and homeless off the street, but when it came to his beloved sister, the man was a devil.

Michele stared after the idiot, grinding his teeth as he tried to come up with a way to get someone competent to deal with the issue. He wanted his sister back, by any means necessary. The king turned back to the young knight, who immediately went pale when he met his leader’s eyes. 

“Ye-yes my lord?” He managed to squeak out.

“I want posters put up throughout the country for sightings of my sister. If possible in neighbouring ones too. Anyone who finds her and her kidnappers will be handsomely rewarded.”

“Yes, sir!” He saluted and ran off. 

***

The crew had been sailing for a few days now, and Mila was starting to wonder how on earth they did it. She knew it was because they were used to being on the open water for so long, but even so, the princess was already finding it maddening being out here with nothing to do. Still, it was better than still being in the palace. At least here she could go where she wanted, talk to who she wanted, and didn’t have to worry about her brother throwing a fit over it.

When she thought of her brother, she wondered how he was doing. Probably ordering every poor soul in the castle out looking for her, and that was the only time she felt bad about being carried away that night, the staff. Especially Celestino, Michele had pretty much tasked him with keeping her in the castle (or safe as he put it), and he’d let Mila get away with her. If that wasn’t a blow to either of their egos she didn’t know what would be. 

That being said, being left alone with her thoughts like this was not the ideal situation, as the more she thought about it the more she wondered if she should stay off at the next port and the more frustrated she got with herself. Noticing her seemingly constant loop of moods, Mila pulled her aside one day.

“What’s got you all pouty?” She asked, keeping her in place with a hand next to her head.

Due to Sara’s increasing lack of anything to think of, her mind became hyper-aware of the fact that Mila was again dressed as she had been a few days ago. Naturally, her mind decided to fixate on this despite her trying to think of literally anything else...like a response.

“Sorry...I’m still not used to being on open water for so long.” She eventually spat out.

“Nah I get you. I got super seasick for the my first few months aboard too. We’ll be docking again soon though, I promise.” 

“Wait I don’t want to cause trouble! You can’t dock if you don’t have to, what if you get caught?!”

“Naah, we can’t stay out for long periods either, it means we stay healthy. Yakov was the same.”

“Well...if you’re sure then…”

“Come up on deck for a bit yeah? Watch us work for a bit.” She smiled, taking her hand.

Without much of a choice, Sara followed the pirate out to the quarterdeck and sat on the back railing, crossing her legs while Mila relieved Chris from the wheel. From what she heard, the princess could only assume that they were sailing over a patch of high rocks and they needed to be more careful than usual. 

“Nothing to worry about!” The redhead assured them all.

Sara couldn’t help but trust the younger girl, especially considering how relaxed she looked with the wooden ship wheel in the hands. Which actually made a lot of sense, since Mila was pretty much raised on a ship she would probably know it inside out. She found herself wondering if this was the same ship that the old captain Yakov had brought her on all those years ago? It was hard to imagine her friend getting a new ship over one that had been her home for 8 years, especially one she felt safe on. 

As the pirate gave orders and steered her ship with ease, Sara couldn’t help but find herself taking in the younger girl’s appearance again. Any time that she properly tried, the redhead was looking at her or someone else would interrupt them but right now she felt that she could just...look. Even though she could only see her from the back, the younger girl had an incredible figure, with hips that Sara just wanted to grab and an ass that just…

‘What the hell am I thinking?!’ The princess gasped, shaking her head a little.

But as much as she chewed on her lip, she couldn’t full tear her eyes away from the Pirates backside, the way her clothes shifted over it in particular. Secretly she wondered what it would be like to grab the soft flesh of her old friend, and despite thinking how perverted it was to think of her like that, she still couldn’t help but look and wonder.

“See something you like princess~?” A voice to her left suddenly purred.

Her head whipped around fast enough to give her mild whiplash, and she saw Viktor grinning at her with all of his bright teeth on show. Sara blushed furiously and looked away, mumbling various unconvincing excuses that she wasn’t looking at Mila’s ass and that he was just seeing things. Cause she wasn’t staring...or thinking...or doing anything that’d be considered lewd…

“Yeah yeah, sure you’re not. So what’s on your mind princess~? I could hear the gears turning from the brig.” 

“Sure…” She rolled her eyes. “And nothing really. Just wondering how things are back home.”

“...Do you miss it?”

“Mmm...not as much as I thought I would...you know?”

“There’s nothing wrong with not missing that place. Anyway, before we both end up depressed, what kind of people are you into?”

The princess turned to look at the first mate in shock. Where the hell had that come from!? Was he trying to work out her sexual preferences?! Why on earth would he want to do that?! She’d never thought about what she looked for in a person, hell outside of the old lady she used to speak to occasionally and Mila she didn’t know any other people.

“Alright, let me rephrase. What do you look for in a potential mate?” 

“Mate? Really?”

“You’re not making this easy, are you Princess?”

“Why do you want to know anyway? I thought you were happily married?”

“I am! I’m not asking for myself sweetheart. Now answer the question.”

“God...I dunno? Blue eyes, passionate, strong, could probably crush me if she wanted to.” She mumbled, just speaking without really thinking.

“Blue eyes and  _ she  _ could crush you huh?” He grinned.

The princess paused, then slowly turned to scowl at the silver-haired pirate, knowing exactly what he was getting at. She’d just said ‘she’ because she was looking at Mila at the time, it didn’t mean anything, and loads of people had blue eyes so it wasn’t as if she was a part of a small population. Viktor chuckled and ruffled her hair a little, making her pout.

***

“So what’s up between you and the princess?” 

Mila looked to her left, just in time to see the blonde Russian sit himself on the railing behind the wheel just to the left of her. He had his fringe, that usually hung in his eyes, braided back in a way the suggested he’d made up with Otabek, which was a relief since when Yurio was in a bad mood, no one else was allowed to be in a good one. 

“We’re friends. New each other a while back. Why’d you ask?”

“So do you like...love her?”

“What do you know about love? The closest you’ve come to having a boyfriend is Otabek, and that’s clearly still up for debate.”

“He’s not my boyfriend!”

“There’s my point.”

“Stop avoiding the question!” 

“Maybe? It’s a loaded question Yuri, I can’t give you the simple answer you’re looking for, kid.”

“Why don’t adults ever talk about things properly. It’s like when Viktor and Yuuri were fighting, they didn’t talk to each other.”

The redhead barked out a laugh, remembering how Yurio had been exactly the same way when he was upset with Otabek only days earlier. She knew he didn’t really understand from her perspective, but it was a little more difficult than just talking about it. Mila ruffled blonde hair, earning her a curse and a scowl for almost messing up his braid.

“Stop it! Beka worked hard for this!”

“Ooooh, so he’s Beka now?”

The younger Russian went red at her teasing, and she grinned at him which only made it worse. Yurio was like a younger brother to her, most of the crew seeing him as Yuuri and Viktor’s adopted son even though the boy himself would never admit it, he was way too proud for that. 

“I mean it Mila, I’m worried you’re gonna make yourself ill by not dealing with things.”

“You don’t need to worry about it ok?”

“Well, I am! Cause you’re worse than the two idiots.”

“Alright you, get back to work.” Her eyes hardened, and he knew he’d reached her limit for now.

He gave her one last look, before hopping down and heading back below deck. The young blonde wasn't pleased by the lack of a response from her, but that only gave him more incentive to try again some other time. 

Mila watched go, and couldn’t help but feel like this was far from the end of that discussion, and not just with Yurio either. She could feel that the whole crew were wanting to know what was happening between her and the princess. And despite how she claimed it was something complex, it was actually quite simple…

...Nothing. There was nothing going on between her and Sara.


	13. From Good to Bad

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things start off good for the girls.  
> But it soon starts looking like things will go wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good weekend good chapter!  
> Had an amazing weekend, so it's good to put up a chapter.  
> However, we're starting a bit of angst, and I'm ready for it!  
> Hope you guys are :3

After a day in port, the entire crew was feeling rejuvenated. Everyone seemed a lot happier than they had been a few days prior and Sara could feel how ready they were to get back on the ocean. Even she herself was itching to get going, though that may be down to the worry about her brother finding and killing them all. Years ago she would have assumed that all pirates were gross dirty men who did nothing but kill and steal, but just over a month in close quarters with them showed that this wasn’t the case, at least for this crew. 

“So how does everyone stay so clean?” Sara asked Yuuri one day.

“...We bathe? Just like everyone else?” The doctor raised an eyebrow at her.

“Yeah but, on a boat isn’t there limited bathing water?”

“Well, yes but we always make sure we have enough to drink and to bathe once a week."

“And if you can get that?”

“We dock in a cove and have a pool party.” He grinned.

At first, she thought he was just teasing her like he had when he told her she’d get sick from staying inside for too long, but the very next day she was proved wrong when Chris pulled them into a small cove in the cliff side.

“Alright, guys! Time to bathe!” Mila clapped, getting their attention.

“Wait...what!?” Sara turned to her. 

“Yeah? Didn’t Yuuri tell you yesterday? We need to keep our water supply high since we won’t be in port again for a while, so we’re gonna swim in the sea! Aaand have some fun while we’re at it.” The younger woman explained.

“I...thought he was joking…” She blushed a little.

Mila laughed loudly as she joined the others in undressing, which only served to make her blush more. She always forgot how toned Mila was underneath her clothes, and forced herself to look away until she heard a splash from nearby, telling her the pirate had already jumped over.

“HEY! YOU COMING OR WHAT?!” The redhead yelled at her from the water.

“I don’t have a bathing suit…” She replied.

The look Mila gave her was one of pure exasperation as she climbed back out of the water and stood before her friend...in a bra and what looked like boxers. The Princess blushed furiously and turned away, covering her eyes.

“That’s all good for you, but my underwear isn’t as...covering!” 

“Neither is Yuuko’s?” 

The two of them turned just in time to see the Japanese woman strip down to a matching bra and panties set, before jumping into the water after her husband. Sara watched her swim for a while and noticed none of them men paid much mind to it. If she were to go running through the streets like that not only would she get arrested but who knew how many men would try and go for her.

“The men of my crew respect women funnily enough. They have a level of respect for me, you and Yuuko that there isn’t a question of us needing to worry.” 

“O...ok…If you’re sure.”

She pulled off her clothes, a simple dress, and immediately felt self-conscious and started comparing herself to Mila. Where Mila was strong, had curves and look like she could crush someone with any of her muscles, whereas Sara was...less so. The Princess didn’t have much time to dwell on it, as the Pirate was dragging her to the edge of the boat. 

“Wait! Mila stop! I can...I can do it myself!” 

“Go on then!” She grinned, waiting.

The princess looked over the edge to see Yuuri and Yuuko waving at her from the water. They looked so free and excited to play in the water, and slowly she thought it would be fun to join them...That wasn’t until a pair of hands gave her a gentle push over the edge and into the cool water below her, drenching Yuuko and Yuuri in the process.

“VITYA!” She heard Yuuri shout when she resurfaced.

“Viktor, she could have done it herself!” Mila’s voice floated down.

“I was getting there! The water is cold!” Sara yelled, wiping her eyes.

“My apologies Princess~!” He smirked.

Viktor jumped in himself and was extremely graceful until Yuuri grabbed his arm and threw him into the water on his back. The doctor and princess started to splash him as soon as he resurfaced, getting him back for pushing her in and almost making her fall onto Yuuri. 

“Yuuri! Sara! Noooo! Mila, make them stop!”

The Captain slowly made her way down into the water, seeming totally unconcerned with the cries of her First Mate who was still being attacked by his husband and the princess. She eventually decided to help him, but not until Sara and Yuuri both felt properly avenged.

“You’re all mean!” He pouted, hiding behind Chris.

“Mean? Viktor, we’re pirates and the best insult you could come up with is mean?!” Phichit cackled from nearby.

“Shut up! I’ll quit!” 

“You can’t quit Vitya, You’d miss me too much!” Yuuri rolled his eyes. 

Sara laughed with the others and let herself float on her back, staring up at the endless sky above them. Now she was glad for her parent’s seemingly pointless swimming lessons, as now she could keep herself afloat without worrying about needing anyone to help her. She could just...relax. 

“I think that’s the most serene I’ve ever seen you.” Mila swam over.

They were a little away from the others now, so they both felt confident that they could speak privately without worrying about them overhearing. The princess’ feet touched a rock so she could stand and talk to her friend properly.

“Maybe I’m getting used to this…?” She muttered, blushing.

“You know if you ever want us to drop you off in a port so you can go back, we will...we’re even heading back past your home at some point…”

“What…” She paused, thinking. “What if I don’t want to go back?”

“Sara…?”

That seemed to take the redhead by surprise, and they stared at each other for a while in silence, a soft pink blush decorating Sara’s cheeks. She meant it, that she wasn’t so sure if she wanted to go back anymore...the idea of being locked up in the castle again after just over a month of freedom seemed so foreign and ridiculous...she didn’t know if she could go back to that. Her silence had started to concern Mila, as she reached out and gently pushed a stray piece of hair out of her face.

“I...I um…” The princess fumbled for words.

“Hey! Come on! We’re gonna get moving again!” Viktor called from the boat, breaking their concentration. 

“Right! We’ll be right there.” Mila called back, before sighing. “We’ll talk more about this later, ok?"

“Ok…” Sara blushed, following the redhead and trying desperately hard not to look up at her as they climbed. 

She collected her dress from where she dropped it on deck and went back to her cabin to get out of the crew’s way. As a princess, she wasn’t much good at physical work, but she was determined to find a way to contribute soon. Drying off and pulling on her dress, she carefully combed out any tangles in her hair as a knock came from the door.

“Come in!” She called.

“Hi.” Yuuri smiled, poking his head in. “I noticed you disappear. Is everything ok?”

“Huh? Oh yeah! Of course, it is! I just thought I’d better get out of their way while they’re busy doing...whatever they need to do to get us moving. What about you?”

“Well…” He sighed and sat next to her. “Pretty much the same as you. Need help? Your hair’s kinda long.”

“Would you mind? I wouldn’t wanna trouble you?” She frowned as he took the comb from her.

“You know, Viktor used to have long hair too.” He told her as he sat behind her and began to run the comb gently through her black hair. “He used to ask me to comb his hair when we weren’t busy.”

“Really? Wow, it must have been so pretty.” 

“Yeah, but it got more awkward as he got older. I think he looks good either way.” The doctor chuckled.

They fell into silence, the princess closing her eyes as she allowed the older man to comb her hair for her. She used to have maids who would offer to do it for her, but she stopped letting them when she caught them gossiping about her one day. She trusted Yuuri though, as odd as it sounded. Sara knew Mila trusted Yuuri with not only her own life but the life of the crew as well, so she couldn’t help but put her faith in him as well.

As a picture of Mila floated into her mind, she thought about the events from earlier, swimming together in their underwear, laughing as she and Yuuri splashed Viktor until he was on the verge of tears. It would have seemed strange to her before, seeing a group of pirates having what was essentially a pool party, but now...it made way too much sense. And Mila had looked...amazing. Compared to the scrawny little thing she’d been when they first met, she’d really filled out well in terms of muscle and...other places. But she supposed that came from working on a ship most of her life.

“Princess? I’ve finished.” Yuuri brought her back to reality.

“Hm? Oh! Thank you very much. And you know full well you can call me Sara.” She smiled back at him. 

“Right.” He smiled back. “Come on, we should be clear of the cove now. We should go up on deck and stop Viktor driving Mila mad.”

“Would he do that?” Sara asked, a little concerned.

“With his constant teasing? Definitely. The only reason she hasn’t made him walk the plank his because he’s like her dad and she can tolerate it from him.”

The two of them laughed as they headed above deck, immediately seeing Mila at the wheel, talking to Viktor and Chris without taking her eyes off the horizon. She made an impressive sight, one that Sara figured she’d like to see more often. As they approached, the Princess noticed that Mila wasn’t wearing a bra under her shirt, and the only reason she  _ did  _ notice that, was because the pirates' shirt wasn’t buttoned all the way up and stopped just above her stomach. A heavy blush spread across her cheeks as she tried not to stare at her, but Mila had already caught her at it, smirking.

“See something you like princess~?”

“Quit it, and do your shirt up, you’ll catch a cold.” She rolled her eyes.

Mila laughed and ignored her, leaving her shirt the way it was. They sailed on for a while, only speaking to give orders to the crew or for Sara to point out a cloud and what type it was. These were things she’d learnt from Celestino that she’d once thought useless, but now were actually becoming useful as she helped keep them away from any potential storms.

“OI! CAPTAIN! WE NEED TO GET MOVING!” Yuuko shouted, suddenly appearing in the crows nest.

“HUH?! WHY?!” Mila shouted back.

“I NOTICED A NAVAL SHIP, I THINK THEY MIGHT BE LOOKING FOR US!”

“WHAT COLOURS?!”

“GREEN...RED...WHITE!”

The Captain cursed and ordered everyone to prepare to lose them, deciding if she could avoid them entirely it would be better than engaging. A naval boat...flying her country’s colours? That could only mean...The princess winced as she thought about who may be on the boat chasing them, and she prayed to any god listening that the leader of their navy was stuck on land for one reason or another. Sick, injured, barely breathing, she didn’t care so long as it wasn’t him.

“Sara…? You don’t look so good.” 

“I was just thinking...if my brother has sent the navy after us...the person on the boat has...has to be…Commander Leroy…” She shuddered.

“Leroy? What can we expect if we need to engage.”

“A pompous moron who can’t seem to take a hint.” The princess growled, unconsciously shifting closer to Mila.

“Is that so…? Sounds like a great guy. I take that tone of voice means he’s tried and failed to court you?” 

“My brother seems to think he’s the perfect choice for a spouse. Someone I can’t stand to be around and would be even unhappier with.” 

Something about that seemed to set Mila off, and she bit her lip so hard she looked like she was about to go right through it. Before she could ask what was wrong, Yuuko signalled that they were still being followed and it didn’t look like there would be much chance of them giving up. Which only meant one thing…

“Sara. I need you to go below deck to your cabin, and I need you to stay there.” She muttered, eyes dark.

“What? Why?” 

“I don’t want you getting caught up in this and getting hurt. Please, I know I haven’t really done anything to earn your trust, but if this is who you say it is...let me protect you.” 

“Mila…” She whispered, looking at the pirate with wide eyes. “Alright...but just...don't get yourself killed ok?” 

That made her laugh, and she gave a harsh nod before nudging her in the right direction. Mila was going to protect her, and as Sara locked the door to her cabin and sat on her bed, she couldn’t help but worry that her friend would get herself hurt.


	14. Battle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As expected, people have finally come for Sara.  
> But Mila doesn't intend to let her go without a fight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again I have to apologise for being late!  
> I had a really busy monday, a lot of stuff happened, but better late than never.  
> Enjoy the angst :3

As the Naval boat approached, Viktor noticed that Yuuri was still above deck, the younger man’s hand resting on his sword in a way that suggested he was ready to fight. As much as he wanted him safe, he’d seen how close his husband had become to the princess, and he knew that telling him to go below deck was not an option. What  _ was  _ an option, however, was sending a certain blonde teenager below deck. Mila noticed the gunman was still there as well, and he silently begged for her to send him somewhere safe, to which she nodded in understanding.

“Yurio. I need you to go below deck and keep an eye on our guest ok?” She was cautious about saying Sara’s name, just in case.

“What?! Why?! I can fight too!"

“I know, but she’s alone right now, and I need you to make sure she’s safe and isn’t scared. Please, Yuri.”

The blonde was obviously conflicted, he wanted to fight beside Viktor and Yuuri, but at the same time the princess had been kind to him and he didn’t want her to get hurt. With a growl that rivalled a kitten, he relented and went below deck.

“Thank you…” Viktor sighed.

“I want him safe too. And I’m sure Otabek does as well.”  

“Well...here’s hoping we can keep them safe…” She muttered, lifting her chin up as the opposing captain appeared from below deck. 

Mila took in his appearance, and she could immediately tell that he was a royal captain. He didn’t seem to spend time outside of his office when required, he was dressed up like a peacock and he definitely pranced around like one. Judging from the hisses from the rest of the crew, they agreed with her. 

“Alright, you filthy pirates! Where are you holding Princess Sara!? Tell me now and I, Commander Jean-Jaques Leroy, may let you live!” He demanded, making them all roll their eyes.

“Sorry to disappoint you Leroy, but we don’t have who you’re looking for.” Mila sighed, waving lazily at him. “Now if you’ll excuse us, we’re being paid to take some supplies to a nearby village that your  _ gracious _ king has decided to ignore in their time of need so…” 

“You’re not going anywhere until you give me the princess!” 

“Oh yes! Hold on, let me just pull her out of thin air because we don’t have her!”

“I have it on good authority that you do, so enough games, hand her over!”

“But Commander I do so love to play with you!” Mila grinned, earning a chuckle from her crew. “You make it so  _ so _ easy!”

“Fine...If you want to be difficult…” He paused. “MEN! ATTACK!”

***

A knock came from the door, and Sara was a little hesitant to open it. There was no sound from above, so maybe they’d just passed by? She couldn’t be sure, but she crawled out from under her bed and opened it a little...to see Yurio frowning at her. 

“Yuri? Is everything ok?” She asked nervously. 

“Mila asked me to keep an eye on you. She didn’t want you to be alone when the fighting starts.” 

“Yuri.” She whispered, smiling. “Thank you. I appreciate it.”

She let him in and locked the door behind them, watching as the teenager sat on the bed and took his instructions literally, staring at her as she moved around the room in an attempt to keep herself busy and not think about what would probably start above them.

“Stop worrying so much, the Captain can handle whatever self-obsessed jack ass is gonna start on her.” The teen rolled his eyes.

“But what if she gets hurt?! It’ll be my fault!” She chewed her lip.

“You’re severely underestimating her. She’s not our Captain for nothing you know!”

“I know I know I just...feel kind of helpless that I can’t do anything.”

The princess felt a hand on her shoulder, and she turned slightly to see Yuri giving her a surprisingly soft look. Of all the times she’d seen the boy, the only times he ever looked like this was around Otabek, so to see him now giving her this look was a little...odd? She did appreciate it though; if anything it reassured her that he knew Mila would be fine.

“You know before the ship I lived on the streets? I think I was the last to join the crew before Old Captain Yakov died.”

“I had no idea...I’m sorry to hear that…”

“Viktor told me that it was Mila who begged him to take me in, and I’m always thankful for that. It’s thanks to her I have a family now.”

“Yuri...why are you telling me this?” She chewed her lip a little.

“What I’m getting at, is that even though Captain Mila is kinda soft, and looks after us all...she’s really strong.”

“Yeah...doesn’t stop me worrying about her. Yeah, she may have thighs that could crush someone, but she’s still human.”

“You uh...you been staring at the captain’s thighs then?” Yuri smirked.

“I have not! She...she just wears tight trousers! It’s impossible not to notice!”

Before Yuri could respond, the sounds of gunshots and metal on metal filled their ears making the two of them flinch. Sara had heard the sounds of a battle before, but never so close...and Mila was in the middle of it. A part of her wanted to go and help, but what would she do apart from getting in the way? Everyone on the deck was a skilled fighter, she knew that, if she went up there now there was a higher chance one of them could get killed in an attempt to protect her.

“I know what you’re thinking...and don’t. It’s a bad idea.” Yuri mumbled.

“But…”

“I know you’re thinking of the captain and you want to make sure she’s safe. But we wouldn’t do her any favours by going out there…”

“What if she needs our help?! What if they all need our help!”

“And what if one of them gets killed because we go up there and get in the way?!” The teen shot back, before taking a deep breath. “Listen...we’re better off down here. If we get in the way, we’ll either get hurt by the assholes attacking us, or one of our guys will accidentally hurt us. Neither of those options is great, and are too risky.”

Sara chewed her lip and dug her nails into the palms of her hands. She hated this...hated being so useless again. The princess had been useless to stop the poverty in the city, useless to stop her parents from not letting her see her friend, useless to stop the guards from catching Mila in the first place. She was just...totally useless.

They both flinched as guns went off and the boat rocked a little, the fight really getting underway now. The Princess heard the teen whisper Otabek’s name, and she knew that he was worried even if he didn’t explicitly say it. In all honesty...she was worried too. Worried that Mila would be so transfixed on protecting her and the crew that she’d herself get killed. She bounced on the balls of her feet, wondering if there was anything she could do...but she couldn’t use a sword, she’d never even touched a gun! She was useless. 

Still...surely she could do something? Maybe act as a distraction, or even kick people! She could kick people pretty hard! But she couldn’t leave Yuri on his own, he could run out and get hurt too! What should she do…! In the end, she knew that she’d hate herself if she sat there and did nothing.

“Yuri…” She mumbled.

“Huh? What is it?”

“I’m sorry...but I can’t do nothing when it’s me they want.” She whispered, before unlocking the door and running through it.

“SARA DON’T!” He shouted after her.

The princess could hear the teen shouting after her as she ran up to the outside deck, but she couldn’t afford to go back now! She was so close to making it out there, so close to being able to do something actually good for...for Mila! Reaching the door that lead out, the sounds of battle were so much louder, and so much more terrifying up close like this. But she couldn’t back down, not now!

“SARA DON’T GO OUT THERE!” 

Ignoring Yuri behind her, Sara opened the door and was overwhelmed by the furious battle in front of her.

***

The Captain took a break in JJ’s attacks to look around at her crew, and she breathed a sigh of relief when she saw all her men still standing and a large portion of the attackers was either injured or dead. It was better than she was expecting, the idea of seeing Viktor, Chris and Phichit bleeding made the Pirate captain shudder and decide to never think of it again. Several of the Naval crew had arrows sticking out of them, making them look like pincushions, and Mila couldn’t help but thank every god she could think of that Yuuko in the crow’s nest was a good shot.

“YOU! PAY ATTENTION TO ME!” The dishevelled naval Captain shrieked.

“Viktor? Do you hear something?” She smirked at her first mate.

“I hear a buzzing Captain, might have a bee aboard!” The older Russian grinned.

“What about you Chris?”

“Nothing important I assure you! And those bees are certainly obnoxious, hitching a ride on our ship!” The Swiss man’s smile rivalled that of the Cheshire cat in old stories.

Unfortunately, the teasing couldn’t continue as JJ shrieked like a bird and started trying to get a hit on her again. He’d got one cheap punch in at the start when he’d stunned her by jumping across the gap between without any form of support. She twirled around him, smacking him with the flat of her sword since she didn’t  _ actually _ want to kill him, just shake him up a little and send him back to Michele quaking in his boots. But it seemed that JJ was trying his damndest to take her life so...Wait...what was that!? 

A flash of dark hair held Mila’s attention, as she realised that Sara had come onto the deck and was sneaking past everyone, using various corpses to hide from JJ. Part of her wanted to laugh at the sight of a Princess crawling on all fours through what looked like a war zone, but if she was here...that meant there was a greater chance of her being dragged back to her brother. Mila couldn’t let that happen! She wouldn’t-

“Don’t get distracted Pirate!” 

Pain flared through her arm, and Mila screamed as JJ’s sword just managed to cut through her shirt. She didn’t think it was anything worth worrying about, her cry more of shock than of actual pain, but she had something more important to focus on. Keeping JJ’s focus on her and not Sara who was currently staring at her with wide fearful eyes. No! No, she shouldn’t be up here, she shouldn’t be watching this! At this point, Mila had to give up on using the flat edge of her sword and start taking him seriously...cause if he saw Sara then this was all over. She had to keep his attention just a bit longer...

...She wasn’t so lucky…

“Princess!” JJ gasped. “I KNEW IT!”

The Pirate saw the people around her move, but she herself froze. He knew she was here, she was there, he could get her, he could hurt her! Then Viktor was running towards them, and Sara herself was screaming at her…no...no she shouldn’t be watching! Mila turned to run over to her, to protect her from the bastards trying to force her back into a life she couldn’t stand.

“MILA TURN AROUND!” Viktor screamed at her, but why was he screaming, they needed to protect Sara!

Then searing pain shot through her stomach, and this time she didn’t scream. She didn’t make a sound as she felt JJ’s sword went through her side. Everyone around her was screaming...why were they being so loud now?

...Then darkness that covered everything...bar one sound…

“MILA!!!”


	15. Please Be Ok

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mila's not looking so good...  
> But then again, neither is JJ.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooooo I may be putting this on hiatus again...  
> BUT for a different reason this time!  
> Coming up to christmas I have a lot of different stuff going on.  
> In particular, I'm starting three different projects for christmas presents for friends I can't get actual things to, so...there's that.  
> I will be back after christmas though!

“MILA!!!” Sara shrieked, feeling her chest seize up.

No! No why hadn’t she listened to Yuri! If she’d listened Mila wouldn’t be collapsing to the ground, her pure white shirt wouldn’t be turning red, she wouldn’t...wouldn’t be...NO! No, she could think like that, there was a chance she was still alive, and she wasn’t going to give that pompous moron JJ the opportunity to finish her off! 

“Give me one moment, my princess! I’ll deal with this filth and then we can be on our way!” JJ smirked, raising his sword.

“NO!” 

Forgetting that she had literally no idea how to properly use a sword, Sara pulled one out of a nearby man’s chest, she didn’t know or care who he was and ran for him. She wouldn’t let him hurt her anymore! She  _ refused _ to let him! The voices of the others, begging her to calm down and not do anything rash, were all distant and easily ignorable. This man...this stupid...foolish...ignorant man sent by her obsessive brother had hurt the woman she...she...she cared for, and Sara wasn’t about to let him get away with it. Coming to a dead stop between Mila and JJ, she pointed the sword at him and scowled, showing that she had no intention of leaving with him.

“My princess, please, move out of the way so I can rid the world of one more criminal.”

“If you touch her again, I swear to God JJ I’ll kill you myself!” 

“Sara...stop…” Viktor slowly approached the princess, while Yuuri and Phichit carefully moved Sara out of the way so she didn’t get stepped on.

“NO! I WILL NOT BE TOLD WHAT TO DO ANYMORE! AND I CERTAINLY WILL  _ NOT _ GO BACK!”

Everyone around her froze in shock, and though she couldn’t see, even Mila was staring at her with wide eyes. The navy could remember Sara as being a pleasant, obedient young woman who would always do what her brother wanted...yet here she stood, pointing a sword at their leader and refusing to follow orders. The pirates were equally stunned. To them, Sara had seemed soft, nice to talk to, but could be considered less threatening than a small butterfly...and she was pointing a sword at someone with decent posture for someone who had never picked one up before.

“Princess, you need to stop playing these games! Your brother is worried sick about you!” 

“I don’t give a damn! He kept me locked in the castle and it drove me mad! These people treat me like an equal and they barely know me!”

“Princess.” He chuckled, obviously not taking her seriously. 

“Mila! Mila you shouldn’t move.” Yuuri’s voice floated from behind her.

Everyone turned to see Mila standing unsteadily and scowling at JJ with all the venom of a snake. Sara almost screamed at her for moving when she was literally bleeding from her side. The Pirate shuffled closer and gently placed her hand on Sara’s shoulder, the touch calming her instantly.  

“You should be lying down…” The princess whispered.

“I will...but you need to calm down...ok?”

“Alright...alright…” She sighed.

“Ok, Princess, now you’ve calmed down we can head back to the city.” JJ smirked.

“I told you! I’m not going anywhere with you!” The Princess growled at him.

“ENOUGH!” He shouted, making both girls flinch. “I’ve had enough of this stupidity. You’re coming with me!” 

“I’m not! Now if you’ll excuse me...I need to look after someone who  _ actually _ cares for me!” Sara turned away from him, flicking her hair in his face.

Once Sara was focused on her friend, she immediately wanted to check on her wound, even though she was in no way qualified to make a medical decision. However, it didn’t look fatal which was a massive relief. The Pirate looked at her softly, resting a hand on her cheek to let her know she was here and she was ok.

“Princess...you can’t seriously want to stay here with  _ her _ ?! What does she give you that I can’t!” JJ shrieked, waving his sword like it wasn’t a weapon.

“Freedom.” Sara frowned, without looking at him. 

The two girls looked at each other, in soft panic while the other pirates around them forced the naval officers back onto their own boat. Everything around them had seemed to stop when she’d first seen Mia get hurt, but she was so relieved to see that the wound wouldn’t kill her. For a second, it looked as if the Pirate wanted to say something, but for some reason, her voice kept getting caught her throat. Sara found this same problem in herself. She had no problem with yelling at JJ, but trying to say anything to Mila wasn’t going anywhere fast. 

“Mila…” She eventually spat out. 

“SARA MOVE!” The pirate shoved her out of the way. 

What the hell was going on...why was she on the floor...why had Mila pushed her, why...why was a sense of dread suddenly filling her chest? Sara could hear Yuuri screaming, Viktor was frozen in front of her, why...what had happened...why didn’t she want to turn around. Steeling herself, the princess slowly looked over her shoulder…

Mila...with JJ’s sword running straight through her middle. When...when had her...Well, the answer to that was obvious, Mila had seen JJ attempting to hurt her and pushed her out the way...and now the pirate was hurt worse! The princess couldn’t breathe, and yet she felt like she was breathing too fast at the same time. Mila was hurt...she could die...because of him! He hurt her!

“JJ!” She screamed, running at him with the sword.

The only reason Sara’s first slash at the Commander hit was because he wasn’t expecting her, but the more she tried to hurt him, the more he got hurt. Tears burned at her eyes and she gasped for breath as she made feeble attempts at proper hits on JJ, but considering her lack of training the princess got a surprising amount of blood from him. She could vaguely hear him begging for mercy, and a small part of her wondered why he wasn’t attacking her back, but he was probably under orders not to hurt her.

Eventually, a soft hand on her shoulder halted her attack and soothed her raging emotions, and she turned to see Viktor giving her a comforting look. It didn’t help, it didn’t help in the slightest, but it made her drop the sword, and that was probably what mattered. The princess buried her face into the Russian’s chest, just listening as he gave orders to the remnants of the Naval crew.

“You should take him and leave before he bleeds out. You’re lucky we don’t kill the rest of you here and now, but we want the message to reach dear King Michele.” 

Hearing the usually cheerful Russian command fear into people was not a sound she was used to, and it wasn’t one she wanted to hear again any time soon. Once Viktor gently nudged her shoulder, Sara looked and saw that the crew were trying to get back to some semblance of normality, but it was obvious they were all shaken. Yuuri and Phichit were gone, as was Mila, so she assumed the two of them had moved her. 

“SARA!” Little Yuri yelled as he came through the door and made his way over. “What the fuck were you thinking?!”

“Yuri...I’m sorry I...I couldn’t…” The princess stammered, tears finally spilling over.

“Hey...what happened? Why the fuck are you covered in fucking blood!”

“Ok...I know none of us are in a great place right now, but Sara…” Chris turned to her. “That was so badass!”

The princess looked around as the crew cheered for her. It was an extremely odd sight, some of them were in the process of throwing bodies into the water, some were dumping water on to the deck to wash away the blood. All of them pausing to cheer for her haphazard attempt at a sword fight. The teenager looked around, thoroughly confused until Chris explained.

“How the fuck!?” 

“Yura!” Otabek suddenly appeared from the other end of the boat. 

“Beka! Oh my god!”

The teen ran for him and leapt in his arms, everyone smiling as the two were finally open about the relationship they all knew about anyway. Sara sighed, thinking about her own relationship with Mila...Mila who was currently hurt and possibly dying!

“Can we go see them? Please?” The princess asked Viktor.

“We can try, but Yuuri’s probably still working on her.”

“I feel like this is my fault...If I hadn’t...she wouldn’t be…”

“I don’t want you blaming yourself for this, and neither would Mila.” Was all the older Russian responded with. 

They walked the rest of the way in silence, but he didn’t remove his hand from the Princess’ shoulder. In a strange way, she found it comforting having him there, acting almost like what she imagined a father should be. Her own had never been particularly the most paternal man with her, and she’d known him all her life. She’d known Viktor around a month and yet he was so soft and kind with her. She appreciated it more than she could express.

When they reached Mila’s room, Phichit was sat outside the door with his legs crossed. He looked wrecked, eyes wide and ringed red from what the other two presumed was crying. It was strange for Sara to see the usually bubbly and excitable young man looking like his world was crashing down...but in a way, she supposed it was. Mila was their captain, their leader...if she died now…

“Phichit…? Don’t you normally help Yuuri?” Viktor frowned at the man’s presence outside of Mila’s room.

“I couldn’t do it...my hands were shaking too bad. I’d be useless to him.” He sounded broken.

“Phichit…” Sara, sighed as she sat next to him. “It’s ok to be scared. Lord knows I am.”

“I should be in there helping...And I couldn’t do anything.” 

With a deep sigh, Viktor joined the two of them on the floor and cuddled up with them, creating a cuddle pile in what was probably the stupidest place. Right now though, they didn’t care that the door could open at any minute. They just needed to comfort of other people and this was the best way to get it.

Eventually, the silence started getting to them all, and with no news from Yuuri, Viktor decided to tell the two of them a story about himself and Yuuri. The younger man had apparently gotten drunk for Chris’ birthday, and the Swiss man managed to coerce him into doing what was almost a striptease and lap dance. 

“Oh god, I remember that.” Phichit giggled.

“Did he actually do it?” Sara gasped, eyes wide.

“He was drunk, of course he did. As amazing of a doctor he is, he can’t handle his alcohol at all. In the end, Mila strapped me to a chair and allowed Yuuri to uh...have his way with me as it were.”

“How’d you handle it?” The Princess asked.

“Tried my hardest to remain composed obviously. It wouldn’t do for the first mate to apparently take advantage of a drunk man, even if he is my husband.”

“Doesn’t mean he didn’t jerk off to the memories next time he was alone~!” The Thai man cackled. 

Before Viktor could defend himself, the door behind the two of them opened suddenly, leaving them flat on their backs while Sara tried not to laugh at them. Yuuri looked down at them, covered in blood and obviously not impressed with the way his husband and best friend were sprawled onto the floor. The princess got to her feet, and helped the two men to theirs, looking at Yuuri, begging for news.

“Well…?” Viktor asked, fiddling with his sleeves.

“She’ll be fine, she’s sleep right now but she’ll recover fully in a few days. I still don’t want her doing a lot of active work once she’s out of bed though.” He sighed, letting the three of them in before going to wash his hands.

Sara sat on the edge of the bed and looked down at the sleeping redhead, feeling a little unnerved that she was watching her sleep, but she couldn’t help but be relieved that she’d be ok. The princess had been so shocked when Mila had stepped in front of JJ’s sword, but what worried her most was what would have happened if the pirate hadn’t moved first.

“I know what you’re thinking, and it’s better not to think of what ifs. You’re both alive, that’s what matters.” Yuuri told her, seemingly reading her mind.

“I know I just...Mila saved my life...he’d have killed me if she hadn’t…”

“Sara...Viktor sighed, running his fingers through his hair. “She’s probably gonna murder me for saying this, but she really cares about you. More than you probably realise.”

“Wait what?” The princess looked confused.

“Come on you two, I need to tell the rest of the crew that Mila will be ok. Keep an eye on her ok?” Yuuri asked, gently shoving Phichit and Viktor out of the room.

Looking after them in total confusion, Sara released a breath that she hadn’t realised she’d been holding and turned her attention back to sleeping pirate, gently brushing the hair out of her face. She looked so much younger in her sleep, Mila was 18 she knew that but right now she barely looked in her teens. 

Viktor had said that the younger girl cared about her more than she knew, but what did that even mean?! Of course, Mila cared about her, they’d been friends for years even though they’d been separated. Out of nowhere, the princess remembered how Mila had once joked about her falling for her...but she didn’t know whether that was really a joke anymore…


	16. Wake Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mila finally wakes up after the battle with JJ.  
> The girls apologise needlessly to each other.  
> Yuuri believes they're one step closer to realising their feelings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wooooow ok this was a really long cliffhanger but no one cares so it's fine XD  
> I am putting this story back on Hiatus again, only now for a different reason.  
> I do want to come back to it eventually, I do really like the story and what I have planned.  
> However, I'm getting into writing for fandoms that I haven't been a part of for a while.  
> I have two longer stories planned out (mostly) and I'm going to see if writing uploading for those is any easier.   
> Anyway!!! Enjoy the last chapter of Our Promise Kept...for now~!!

Being woken up to a stabbing pain in her side was not unfamiliar to Mila...but the pressure on her thighs was. She tried to open her eyes but had to squint against what felt like an absurdly bright light, and in the end, the pirate just decided to keep her eyes closed. What had happened yesterday? The last thing she could remember was...Leroy trying hurt Sara. 

At the memory of Leroy and Sara, Mila’s eyes flew open despite the sting of the lighting. What if he’d got her?! What if he’d hurt her?! She made an attempt to move but was stopped in her tracks by a stabbing pain through two separate parts of her middle. Right...of course, Leroy had hurt her pretty damn badly. The Pirate blinked a couple of times, finally clearing her vision of the fogginess that came with waking up, and looked down at herself, only gasping to see Sara resting her head on her thighs! Well...that explained that.

“What the…” She whispered, eyes widening as Mila processed what she was seeing.

In the back of her mind, Mila knew that there was no way this was real, that she was probably just dreaming and that Sara was probably far away whilst she was stuck on Leroy’s ship...if she was far away at least that meant the Princess was safe...she just hope that the crew were managing ok without her. Viktor could handle things just fine, Mila knew he could, especially with Chris and Yuuri by his side...All the Pirate needed to do was recover enough to escape. Before she could move, the door slowly swung open and in shuffled a man she hadn’t expected to see.

“Morning Captain, good to see you’re finally back with us.” He smiled softly. 

“Great...another hallucination…”

“Hallucination? Mila...Mila, you aren’t dreaming, you’re here with us, you’re safe.” He told her, sitting beside his Captain as he started checking her vitals.

“This is real…? Then…?” 

“You won’t believe what happened after you passed out. Sara lost it and got so many hits on Leroy, everyone was impressed. And she hasn’t left your side since I let her in last night.” 

“Is that so…” She sighed, hand sliding down to run her fingers through beautiful dark hair.

“Mmmmm…” The princess groaned, the most undignified Mila was sure she’d ever seen Sara. “Mi-Mila…?” 

“Ha!” The Captain burst out laughing, before mirroring Yuuri’s words to her. “Morning Princess.” 

“You...you’re alive!?” She gasped, gripping the red head’s hand.

“Of course I am, you think a pesky little stab would keep me down?” 

“Mila, can you please not trivialise your injuries?” Yuuri sighed as he changed her bandages.

"Meh, I’m still alive aren’t I?” She chuckled, wincing when it pulled on the stitches Yuuri had given her. “Anyway, how long have I been out?”

“About a week. We pulled into a dock on a small island on the coast of Spain. Viktor’s been leading the crew until you recovered and decided it’d be better for us all if we stayed docked at least until you woke up.” Yuuri explained. 

“Alright! Well, we should get moving as soon as possible!” Mila sighed, making a move to stand up.

“Don’t you even think of leaving that bed until I say so. You’re on bed rest for the next few days, then no intense work for a week after that.” Yuuri ordered, gently pushing their Captain back on the bed.

“Yuuri, I need to do my job-”

“Doesn’t matter. Sara, I need to check on everyone else, could you make sure she doesn’t go and open her wound?” 

“Yeah, yeah of course.” She nodded, shuffling into Yuuri’s place once he’d moved.

The two girls watched Yuuri head out, Mila glaring at the idea of spending so much time out of commission on top of the week she’d spent unconscious. She couldn’t lead her men if she was stuck in bed! Maybe…? Blue eyes glanced at Sara, who was still staring at the door after Yuuri left, and without warning, she tried to jump to out of bed.

“Mila what the hell?!” Sara gasped, grabbing her arm and pinning her down. “Yuuri told you to stay in bed, do as you’re told!” 

“Ugh! You’re not my mother~!” The pirate groaned, glaring.

“Maybe not! But I’m as close as you’re gonna get right now!” Sara glared back. 

At that point, Mila seemed to give in and her entire body relaxed, giving Sara the go-ahead to let go of her. The two girls stared at each other for a while, trying to make sense of what had happened last time they were both conscious. Sara had never considered herself a violent person...but seeing JJ put his sword through Mila had made her snap.

“Alright...so you gonna tell me what you were on deck when I told you to stay in your room?”

“I…” She sighed. “I was worried...and I couldn’t bring myself to just stay inside…"

“Sara...You could have been hurt. Hell! You almost were.” The pirate gently rested a hand on Sara’s cheek. 

The Princess closed her eyes and hummed happily at the contact, almost like she was a cat purring because someone was petting her. Normally, the thoughts going through her head at Mila touching her would have freaked her out, but right now it just assured her that the pirate was here and alive. After everything that had happened, plus the following week of no contact...it was just nice to have her back. Before the princess could help herself, tears had started rolling down her cheeks, the wetness causing Mila to blink in shock.

“Sa-Sara?! What’s wrong!?” The redhead muttered.

“I’m...I’m just so glad you’re ok! I was worried you’d never wake up...and it’d be all my fault!” She sniffled. “I don’t know what I would have done if you died...right in front of me...because of my own recklessness…”

“Let me guess. Hearing about me dying of some illness is one thing, but actually seeing me killed in battle is another?” Mila seemed far too calm about what happened for Sara’s liking.

“You could have died Mila!” 

“I could die at any time! I’m a Pirate Sara, one of the most feared Captains on the sea. Your brother isn’t the only one after my head, and he won’t be the last. You get used to the idea of death being around the corner.” 

“Well, what if I’m not happy to sit and watch you die?!” Sara shouted, gripping the sheets tightly. 

Mila fell silent, staring at the Princess with wide eyes. This was something new...she’d never seen Sara so...upset, it was a little shocking to see. Mila brought her other hand round to cup Sara’s other cheek and looked her deep in the eyes in an attempt to calm her down. She hadn’t wanted to upset the older girl, and she wasn’t going to make the mistake of leaving her upset.

“Sara…” She whispered.

“I just hate the thought of you getting hurt because of me…” 

“Hey...I’m sorry I was so casual about it...I know you’re not used to this way of life yet, and I should be more aware of that. But you need to understand that when your life is at risk every other day...you can’t like...you can’t let yourself get upset about it, and being casual and making light of it is the only way you can stay sane.”

“I know...I know I’m sorry…I just don’t think I can lose you again...I finally got you back...my only friend…” 

The pirate opened her mouth to respond but was cut off by the older girl lunged at her in a hug, holding onto Mila like a life-line. She almost giggled at the feminine squeak that escaped her friend’s lips, purely because such a girly sound seemed so odd coming out of some pretty Tomboy-ish lips. But once she’d gotten over the shock, the hug became solid and warm and just...made Sara want to stay like this for the rest of her life.

“I’m ok Sara...I promise I’m ok.” The redhead whispered.

“I know...I know I’m sorry.” Sara took deep breaths. 

“...Sara...I love hugs...and this is wonderful...but you’re hurting me!” Mila whined.

“Oh my god!” The princess jumped up. “I’m so sorry! Are you ok!?” 

“I’m fine, Sara. Now sit down, I wanna know what you did after I passed out.” 

Sara giggled and sat back down, gently lacing their fingers together as she recounted everything from Mila getting stabbed for the second time. For the whole story, the Pirate didn’t take her eyes off her friend, watching the slight changes in her face as she spoke, and trying not to laugh at the was the Princess spoke with her hands flying all over the place. It stunned her to hear that Sara had gone off like that and tried to kill JJ, not that she hadn’t appreciated, Mila would probably be dead if she hadn’t. Despite the ferocity the Princess described, it was a little difficult to take her seriously when she was talking so much with her hands. Mila wasn’t going to comment...until she almost got hit in the face.

“Sara...sweet heart...I know you’re Italian and you guys are super expressive, but how about you keep your hands to yourself for a bit.” She smirked, gently pressing the Princess’ hands together.

“Oh shut it, you! I’ve never used a sword before! I think I did well!”

“From the sounds of it, you were lucky. I’ll have to teach you how to use a sword properly over swinging it wildly.” The pirate winked.

“Maybe you should! If I’m going to be staying with you then I need to know how to defend myself!”

“I think I’d much rather teach you to use a gun. Not sure if I want you getting close enough to an enemy to use a sword.” 

“Hey! I told you how badly I fucked JJ up!” Sara pouted.

“Sara!” Mila gasped, eyes widening. “Such foul language!” 

“Oh shut up.” The princess rolled her eyes.

Mila grinned at her, still laughing, but the smile soon dropped the more she thought about things. Yes she was fine now, yes Sara was safe and still with them but...things could be so so different. Before, Mila didn’t really care all that much whether she lived or died, so long as she kept the others safe. Now Sara was with her...not only did she have someone to keep safe...but she had a reason to keep herself safe. 

“Mila…? Is something wrong…?” The Princess asked, gently bringing her back to the conversation.

“Hm? Oh, no...no I’m fine. I just...um…”

“Mila...if something’s bothering you, you can tell me.” 

“I know...I just wanted to apologise for...a lot of things. For taking you like that-”

“Mila…”

“And for scaring you when Leroy came. I just…”

“Mila…you don’t have to apologise for any of that. I know I...I didn’t exactly react well, and I should have tried to understand more. You’re not the same shy, weak, scared little girl you used to be.” 

Sara hugged the pirate again, this time being slightly more gentle with her since the last time had been a little less than successful. The two of them held each other close, just glad that they were safe, for now. In the backs of their minds, they knew it wouldn’t last, not with the way they lived their lives now.

“The only thing I want from you is a promise that you’ll look after yourself properly. And teach me how to defend myself...that’s important too.” 

“No worries.” The Pirate winked. “I’m good at keeping my promises~” 

Sara scoffed and rolled her eyes, poking the pirate’s cheek in an attempt to get her to shut up. Not that she really wanted her too, Mila may have been annoying from time to time, but her dumb attempts at jokes really did help lighten a mood. Although Sara did want to talk more with her, the door burst open to reveal Viktor, Phichit, Chris and Yuuri, the first three of who seemed to be in tears over their captain’s recovery. The princess had never seen Chris show any emotion other than flirtatious, so seeing him on the verge of tears was something quite shocking. However, it was good to know that Mila was surrounded by people who wanted to keep her safe.

**Author's Note:**

> So I was planning to start this next Thursday.  
> But I got too excited so I'm doing this on Saturday's!  
> Thanks to Fringeboyes on Tumblr for helping me come up with and develop the idea!  
> Which basically started with the Pirates and Princesses parades that were going on in Disneyland Paris when we were there!  
> And I just had to fit my favourite lesbians into it!
> 
> Follow my Tumblr for updates and other stuff: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/thelittleleprechaun


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